BEIJING – A senior Chinese official reaffirmed ties with North Korea during a meeting Saturday with the country’s leader Kim Jong Un in the capital Pyongyang, China’s state media reported, in the highest-level talks between the allies in years.
The visit by Zhao Leji, who ranks third in the Communist Party hierarchy and heads the ceremonial parliament, came as North Korea tested missiles to intimidate South Korea and its ally the United States.
Xinhua News Agency reported that Zhao told Kim at the concluding meeting of his three-day visit that China, the North’s most important source of economic aid and diplomatic support, looked forward to further developing ties, but did not made any mention of the political situation in the country. peninsula or region.
Since establishing diplomatic relations 75 years ago, China and North Korea have been “good neighbors and strived together to achieve a common destiny and level of development,” Zhao said, citing Xinhua.
China fought on behalf of the reclusive Communist state against the US and others during the 1950-1953 Korean War, and in recent years helped prop up its weak economy, allegedly in violation of UN sanctions in response to its nuclear weapons program. of Pyongyang that Beijing had endorsed.
Zhao met with his North Korean counterpart Choe Ryong Hae on Thursday and discussed how to promote exchanges and cooperation in all areas, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported.
North Korea closed its borders during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, amid reports of a large outbreak and food shortages. Zhao’s visit to North Korea marked the first bilateral exchange involving a member of the Chinese Politburo Standing Committee since the start of the pandemic. Before the outbreak, Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping held two summits in 2019.
North Korea and China are expected to hold a series of exchanges this year to mark the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. North Korea has sought to increase its cooperation with Beijing and Russia in the face of a standoff with the US and South Korea over missile launches and nuclear program.
Kim traveled to Russia in September for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The U.S., South Korea and others accuse North Korea of providing conventional weapons for Russia’s war in Ukraine in exchange for advanced weapons technologies and other support.
China has refused to criticize the Russian invasion and accused the US and NATO of provoking Moscow, but says it will not provide direct military support to Moscow.
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