North Korea, China Pledge to Strengthen Partnership during Choe-Li Meeting
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui met China's Premier Li Qiang and conveyed Pyongyang's unwavering stance on advancing ties with Beijing in line with the demands of the era, the North's state media reported Tuesday.
Choe delivered the remarks during the meeting in Beijing on Monday, the third day of her four-day trip to China, which also included talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Choe recalled that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed during their recent talks to stimulate high-level exchanges between the two countries, the KCNA said.
The foreign minister also told the premier, "It is ... the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's unchanging position to further strengthen and develop the traditional (North Korea-China) partnership in line with the demands of the era."
Choe outlined her country's economic efforts to complete projects in the final year of the country's five-year economic development plan and wished the Chinese people success in their struggle for national rejuvenation under Xi.
The Chinese premier stressed that North Korea-China partnership is being solidified and advanced under the "direct attention and strategic guidance" of Kim and Xi.
China highly regards its friendship with North Korea, and it is China's unwavering foreign policy stance to always promote the development of bilateral relations from a "strategic angle" and a "long-term perspective," the KCNA quoted him as saying.
Li also expressed willingness to strengthen exchanges, cooperation and strategic communications with Pyongyang to help bring greater welfare to both their peoples, the KCNA added.
Choe appears to have departed for Pyongyang on Tuesday morning, with data from Flightradar24, a flight tracker, showing that a chartered North Korean flight took off from Beijing Capital International Airport at 10 a.m. en route to Pyongyang.
On the second day of her visit to China, Choe held talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, marking her first one-on-one meeting with him since taking office in June 2022.
Coming a month before South Korea hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, Choe's trip may have been aimed at coordinating responses with China over Xi's planned summits with President Lee Jae Myung and Trump, an official at South Korea's unification ministry said.
"Choe is assumed to have traveled to China for prior communications, as President Xi is scheduled to hold summits with South Korea and the US during his trip to South Korea for the APEC summit," the official noted.
Sources suggested the discussion may have included North Korea's request that any mention of its denuclearization be excluded from Xi's potential summit statements.
The ministry official suggested there is little possibility that Choe arranged Xi's attendance at the Oct. 10 North Korean military parade marking the ruling party's founding during the latest visit.
China has no record of its top leader visiting North Korea on the anniversary and the two countries have little room for another summit following the one held in Beijing earlier this month.
