Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong has arrived on an official visit to North Korea as the two countries mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties, state media reported.
The delegation arrived on Thursday, North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency reported. North Korean officials received the delegation at a border bridge before paying tribute to statues of former leaders in the capital.
AFP photos showed Sun and his delegation meeting with North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong Ho and others at the People’s Palace of Culture in the capital. Pak greeted Sun with a smile as the Chinese vice foreign minister entered a room in the venue in the North Korean capital.
No details of the Chinese delegation’s programme have been released, but the visit is believed to come after North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Pak Myong Ho visited China in December.
Pak and Sun then exchanged views on ways to strengthen bilateral relations between the countries ahead of the anniversary celebrations in 2024.
Earlier this month, Kim said Pyongyang and Beijing had declared 2024 “the year of DPRK-China friendship”, using an abbreviation of North Korea’s official name.
This year, the two countries “will further promote exchanges and visits in all fields including politics, economy and culture” and will write “a new page in the history of DPRK-China relations,” Kim said in a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping, KCNA reported.
After three years of complete border closures, North Korea has begun allowing entry to its citizens stranded abroad and foreign delegations, but only from China and Russia, Pyongyang’s closest partners at the moment.
