Chinese official meets North Korean party leader in Pyongyang
Wang Huning’s visit follows Xi Jinping’s June summit with Kim Jong Un as Beijing and Pyongyang seek closer ties.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
A senior Chinese delegation led by Wang Huning held talks in Pyongyang with a top North Korean ruling party official, Reuters reported, citing North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency. The visit points to continued efforts by Beijing and Pyongyang to reinforce their relationship after Chinese President Xi Jinping’s June trip to North Korea.
Wang, China’s fourth-highest-ranked official, arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday, according to KCNA as reported by Reuters. He met Jo Yong Won, a senior official in North Korea’s governing Workers’ Party.
KCNA said Wang reaffirmed the Chinese Communist Party and government’s intent to carry out agreements reached by Xi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their summit in Pyongyang last month, Reuters reported. That June visit was Xi’s first trip to North Korea in seven years.
North Korean state media described the Xi-Kim summit as producing a “far-reaching blueprint” to strengthen what it called “the most powerful and strategic relations.” Chinese state media said Xi pushed during that visit for closer cooperation with North Korea in diplomacy, law enforcement and the military.
Wang also referred during this week’s meeting to the 65th anniversary of friendship ties between China and North Korea, KCNA reported through Reuters. Jo told Wang that North Korea wants to build strategic communication and tactical cooperation with Beijing, according to the same report.
The two officials discussed cooperation between the countries’ ruling parties, as well as ways to improve public welfare and expand business and cultural ties, KCNA said. The agency did not provide further detail on specific agreements or programs.
The talks come as North Korea has moved closer to Russia in recent years. Reuters reported that Pyongyang signed a strategic defense agreement with Moscow and that thousands of North Korean troops were deployed to fight in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
China remains North Korea’s largest economic partner, according to Reuters. Beijing has long been Pyongyang’s traditional ally, and the recent sequence of senior-level exchanges suggests both sides are working to keep that relationship active despite North Korea’s expanding ties with Moscow.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told Reuters that the high-level meetings reflect shared interest in tightening relations. He said North Korea is seeking China’s economic and geopolitical support, while China wants to preserve its influence on the Korean Peninsula and retain a role in Northeast Asian affairs.
KCNA did not elaborate on whether Wang’s visit would include additional meetings in Pyongyang. Reuters reported the talks as part of a wider pattern of exchanges following Xi’s June summit with Kim.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.