North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-Hui met with China’s new ambassador to Pyongyang, Wang Yajun, on May 8 in a “comradely and friendly atmosphere,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, and expressed her country’s “steadfast“ determination to promote “traditional friendship and cooperation“ between the DPRK and China.
In a separate statement released by the Chinese Embassy in North Korea, Ambassador Wang also referred to the “socialist“ friendship between China and North Korea. They were “neighbors linked by mountains and rivers,“ he said, promising to work with the North to contribute to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region:
“China is willing to strengthen strategic coordination, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and maintain, consolidate and expand traditional friendly relations for the benefit of the two countries and peoples.“
The new ambassador arrived in April after a 15-month delay
The Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang’s Moranbong District, is currently one of 25 active diplomatic missions in North Korea.
Ambassador Wang Yajun was appointed Beijing’s top envoy to Pyongyang in February 2021 but could not take up his post until early April because of the border restrictions imposed by the North during the Covid-19 pandemic. He is the first foreign diplomat allowed into the country since January 2020.
North Korea has strengthened ties with China – traditionally a close ally and key economic pillar – in the face of global sanctions against its nuclear and missile programs as well as stalled denuclearization talks with the United States.
Edited by Robert Lauler.
