Kim Jong Un, chairman of North Korea's State Affairs Commission, met with Li Qiang, premier of the China State Council, who visited North Korea to attend the 80th anniversary events for the founding of the Workers' Party, and said that "North Korea-China relations are solid and unbreakable (牢不可破)."
Xinhua News Agency reported on the 10th that Kim Jong Un met Premier Li in Pyongyang on the 9th and said, "No matter how the international situation changes, consolidating and developing the friendly and cooperative relationship between North Korea and China is the unwavering position of North Korea's party and government."
Kim went on to say, "This not only conforms to the shared interests of both sides but also helps the region's peace, stability, and development." He also said, "North Korea firmly supports the 'one China' principle," adding that it "resolutely opposes any 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities and any external interference, and supports China's positions on the issues of Hong Kong, Macau, Xinjiang (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region), and Xizang (Xizang Tibet Autonomous Region)." North Korean media did not report these remarks by Kim.
Regarding the North Korea-China summit between Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un last month, Premier Li said it "set the direction and drew a blueprint for further deepening North Korea-China relations," adding, "China's party and government handle North Korea-China relations from a consistently strategic and long-term perspective."
He added, "It is our unwavering policy to properly develop the traditional friendly and cooperative relations between North Korea and China," and said, "We want to ensure that bilateral relations continue to develop anew."
Photos carried by North Korean media show that about 10 people from the Chinese side, including Premier Li, attended the meeting. From the North Korean side, only Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui sat in attendance alongside Kim.
Premier Li is second in China's power hierarchy. He is leading a Chinese delegation on an "official friendly visit" to North Korea from the previous day through the 11th for the 80th anniversary events marking the founding of the Workers' Party. A Chinese premier's official visit to North Korea is the first in 16 years since then-Premier Wen Jiabao's visit in Oct. 2009.