SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean and Chinese officials met in Beijing and pledged to further develop bilateral ties, North Korean media reported on Sunday, as Pyongyang seeks to expand its diplomatic engagement following its COVID-19 lockdown.
A North Korean delegation led by Kim Song Nam, head of the International Department of the ruling Workers’ Party Central Committee, was among groups visiting countries in the region since last week with which Pyongyang has maintained closer ties.
In a meeting on Thursday, Wang Huning, China’s fourth leader, told Kim “no matter how the international situation changes, the China-DPRK friendship, a strategic choice of both sides, will never waver,” he said KCNA, using North Korea’s formal name, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged messages earlier this year and promised closer ties.
During Thursday’s meeting, Wang conveyed Xi’s “sincere and warm” message to Kim, KCNA said.
North Korea has implemented tough border restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic, cutting off the flow of goods with China and Russia, suspending diplomatic exchanges with its key allies and cutting off routes used by smugglers and defectors.
Some restrictions remain and only recently has Pyongyang allowed greater access to foreign diplomats, resumed some diplomatic commitments and increased trade with Russia and China.
On Sunday, KCNA said Kim held talks with Cai Qi, who is the head of the powerful Chinese Communist Party Secretariat on Friday, KCNA reported on Sunday.
Cai said the friendship between the two countries is “formed in blood” and welcomed “a better future under the strategic leadership” of Xi and Kim, KCNA said.
Kim Song Nam, alternate member of the Political Bureau, also met Liu Jianchao, who heads the Chinese Communist Party body responsible for managing relations with foreign political parties.