The foreign ministers of North Korea and China have agreed to further deepen cooperation and exchanges between their nations, state media outlets reported on Friday. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi flew to Pyongyang on Thursday for his first visit to North Korea in seven years.
During their meeting, Wang and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui discussed current international and regional issues, although specifics were not disclosed. They also agreed to strengthen strategic communication between their foreign policy agencies, according to China's Xinhua news agency and the North's Korean Central News Agency.
Neither outlet mentioned whether the talks covered the United States or other topics such as the war in the Middle East. Wang's trip comes ahead of US President Donald Trump's rescheduled summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in May.
The relationship between North Korea and China has traditionally been described as “as close as lips and teeth”, but ties have been questioned in recent years. North Korea has focused on expanding cooperation with Russia, supplying troops and ammunition for its war in Ukraine, while China is reportedly reluctant to form an anti-West alliance with Pyongyang and Moscow.
Nevertheless, the two countries have been pushing to solidify their relationship. Last September, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Xi held their first summit in more than six years, pledging mutual support. Last month, North Korea and China resumed direct flight and passenger train services, which had been suspended since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
