China’s No 3 official Zhao Leji to lead delegation to North Korea on ‘goodwill visit’
- Zhao, a Politburo Standing Committee member and the country’s top lawmaker, is expected to hold talks with Pyongyang officials
- It will be the latest high-level exchange between the two sides and comes as tensions have been running high on the Korean peninsula
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning confirmed on Tuesday that Zhao – China’s third-highest ranking official – would lead a group of party and government officials on a “goodwill visit” to North Korea.
She said the delegation would attend the opening ceremony of the “China-North Korea Friendship Year”, which will mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Beijing and Pyongyang.
Details of Zhao’s visit were still being discussed, according to Mao. He is expected to meet North Korean officials for high-level talks.
Mao said the visit “demonstrates the deep friendship between the two countries” and the importance Beijing attaches to their bilateral relations.
“It is believed that with the joint efforts of both sides, this visit will surely be a success and will further promote the deepening and development of China-North Korea relations,” she said, adding that Zhao had been invited to visit by Pyongyang’s ruling party.
Zhao’s trip will be the latest high-level exchange between the two sides.
A North Korean delegation visited Beijing last month, led by the head of the International Department of the ruling Workers’ Party Central Committee, Kim Song-nam.
Kim met top Chinese officials Wang Huning and Cai Qi – ranked fourth and fifth on the Politburo Standing Committee – as well as his counterpart Liu Jianchao during the trip.
During their meeting, Wang said Beijing was willing to work with Pyongyang to deepen collaboration, strengthen strategic communication, and jointly work “for a peaceful and stable external environment”, according to the Chinese foreign ministry readout.
That came after Chinese foreign vice-minister Sun Weidong visited North Korea with a group of officials in January, meeting his counterpart Pak Myong-ho and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui.
The two sides agreed to “strengthen strategic communication at all levels” and reaffirmed their “unswerving stance” on deepening bilateral ties, the Chinese foreign ministry readout said. A report by the official Korean Central News Agency said they had agreed to defend both nations’ common interests.
02:17
North Korea holds live-fire drills as US Secretary of State Blinken attends Seoul democracy summit
Tensions have been running high on the Korean peninsula after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in January called South Korea the “principal enemy” and abolished a handful of key government agencies dedicated to reunification with the South.
Despite facing international sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear weapons programme, North Korea has persisted in advancing its military capabilities. Beijing is Pyongyang’s closest ally and its biggest economic benefactor.
Last week, Seoul said Pyongyang had test-fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile. That came after Pyongyang in March reportedly tested a solid-fuel engine for an intermediate-range hypersonic missile.
As tensions rise on the peninsula, Seoul is drawing closer to its key ally Washington. The two countries last month held their annual joint military exercise, Freedom Shield, which was condemned by Pyongyang.
