BEIJING: China’s premier will pay an official visit to North Korea this week, Beijing said on Tuesday (Oct 7), announcing the highest-level visit by a Chinese leader since 2019.
Despite periods of strained ties between China and North Korea over Pyongyang’s nuclear programme, the neighbours have maintained a close relationship in recent years.
Li Qiang, China’s highest-ranking leader after President Xi Jinping, will lead a government delegation from Thursday to Saturday to attend events marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of North Korea’s ruling party, China’s foreign ministry said.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported last week that the North appears to be preparing for a large-scale military parade to mark the party’s anniversary.
During a meeting in Beijing late last month, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi called on his North Korean counterpart to strengthen the partnership.
Just weeks before, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un paid a rare visit to the capital city, where he stood alongside Xi at a parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Xi’s last visit to North Korea was in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
China has long been the North Korean government’s most important ally and source of support, though Kim has sought to balance that in recent years by building ties with Russia. He has sent troops to help Moscow in its war against Ukraine.
Russia is sending former president Dmitri Medvedev to this week’s anniversary celebrations, North Korea’s official KCNA news agency said Monday.
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