SEOUL, A Chinese delegation led by the country’s top legislator, Zhao Leji, will visit Pyongyang, North Korea’s state media said Tuesday, in the latest in a series of trips meant to boost ties.
The delegation “will pay an official goodwill visit” to North Korea, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said in an English-language dispatch, without providing any further details.
In Beijing, China’s foreign ministry said Zhao will visit the North from Thursday to Saturday to attend the opening ceremony of the China-DPRK Friendship Year.
The ministry said the upcoming trip demonstrates the deep friendship between the two countries and the degree of importance China attaches to their bilateral relations, expressing hope that the visit will serve to further develop their ties.
The ministry added that the trip has been organized at Pyongyang’s request.
The visit comes as the two nations mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties. China is the North’s longtime ally and largest econ
omic benefactor.
North Korea appears to be stepping up high-level exchanges with Beijing, as much as it has been expanding the relationship with Russia, including military cooperation.
South Korea’s unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs earlier said North Korea and China are expected to have “vibrant” exchanges this year to mark the anniversary.
In January, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong visited Pyongyang and met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui in a move widely seen as a reciprocal trip after the North’s Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong-ho visited China in December.
Observers say such recent visits give rise to the prospect that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could pay a visit to Beijing later this year for a possible summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Xi last visited Pyongyang and held a summit with Kim in June 2019.
Source: Yonhap News Agency