Kim Jong-un, chairperson of North Korea's State Affairs Commission, met in Pyongyang with Wang, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs director general, and reaffirmed expanding high-level North Korea-China exchanges and strengthening strategic communication. Wang's visit, the first publicly disclosed trip to Pyongyang since 2019, is seen as showing that the North Korea-China diplomatic channel, which had loosened after COVID-19, is being restored quickly.
On the 10th, according to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and state media, the chairperson met Wang at the Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee headquarters in Pyongyang and conveyed greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping. The chairperson, recalling a meeting with Xi during a visit to China in September last year, was said to have expressed satisfaction that the shared understandings reached then are being implemented concretely. The chairperson assessed that North Korea-China relations have risen to a "new height" in line with the will of the two parties and the two peoples.
The chairperson went on to say that, using the line set by the 9th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea as a pivot, North Korea would further strengthen high-level exchanges with China and make strategic communication even closer. Emphasizing that deepening and developing North Korea-China relations continuously amid rapidly changing international dynamics is North Korea's firm policy, the Chinese side said the chairperson also voiced support for China's position on Taiwan and its efforts to safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Director General Wang responded by conveying Xi's greetings. Citing that both North Korea and China are socialist states led by communist parties, he said the two countries should further strengthen communication and coordination on major international and regional issues amid a complex international landscape. He also emphasized expanding exchanges and visits to spur practical cooperation, and, based on the consensus forged by the two top leaders, injecting new, contemporary substance into the traditional friendship.
The contact followed talks held the previous day between Director General Wang and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui. Marking the 65th anniversary of the North Korea-China Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance this year, the two sides agreed to expand strategic communication between their diplomatic authorities and exchanges in various fields. During the visit, Wang also went to the Chinese People's Volunteers Martyrs' Cemetery in Kangdong County, Pyongyang, again underscoring that North Korea-China relations stand on so-called "friendship forged in blood."
North Korea-China relations have shown a noticeable recovery trend since the second half of last year. The chairperson visited Beijing in September last year for a summit with President Xi, followed in October by China State Council Premier Li Qiang's trip to Pyongyang. Recently, some Beijing-Pyongyang passenger train services and Chinese-flagged flights have also resumed. China's exports to North Korea last year were $2.3 billion, a record high in six years. Not only political and diplomatic channels but also transport and economic exchanges are coming back to life.
Diplomatic circles are paying particular attention to the timing of Director General Wang's visit. With a summit between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump expected next month and the possibility that the Korean Peninsula issue will be on the agenda, there is speculation that North Korea and China may have moved to coordinate positions in advance.
With North Korea recently closing ranks with Russia and China also shoring up its strategic channel with Pyongyang, analysts say it could have a considerable impact on the Northeast Asian diplomatic landscape, where North Korea-China-Russia relations intersect with U.S.-China ties.