China to ‘intensify high-level exchanges’ with North Korea, No 3 official Zhao Leji says in marking 75 years of ties

China’s third-ranked Politburo Standing Committee member and top lawmaker is leading senior delegation to Pyongyang to mark 75th anniversary of ties

Latest high-level visit comes as North Korea warms to Russia, and the US and its allies boost defence bonds with an eye on both Pyongyang and Beijing

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Choe Ryong-hae, vice-chairman of the central committee of the Workers’ Party of North Korea, receives NPC chairman Zhao Leji at the Pyongyang International Airport on Thursday. Photo: KCNA via AP

Published: 5:02pm, 12 Apr 2024Updated: 6:54pm, 12 Apr 2024

China will “intensify high-level exchanges” with North Korea, top lawmaker and No 3 official Zhao Leji said in Pyongyang, as the two countries held their highest-level meeting in nearly five years.

The chairman of China’s National People’s Congress is leading a delegation of senior officials to the North Korean capital on a goodwill visit to mark 75 years of bilateral ties.

Meeting his Korean counterpart Choe Ryong-hae on Thursday, Zhao said China hoped to increase strategic coordination to mark the milestone in diplomatic relations.

Beijing was “willing to … take the ‘China-DPRK Friendship Year’ event as an opportunity to intensify high-level exchanges, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, promote cultural exchanges, strengthen strategic coordination, and promote the continued development of [bilateral] relations,” a Chinese foreign ministry statement quoted him as saying. DPRK refers to North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic Republic of Korea.

The meeting came shortly after Zhao and his delegation arrived in Pyongyang for a three-day visit.