SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met the Chinese delegation which visited Pyongyang to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War and vowed to take the two countries’ relations to a “new high”, the North’s state media said on Saturday.
Kim hosted a reception for the Chinese officials led by Communist Party Politburo member Li Hongzhong on Friday, the North’s KCNA news agency said. The Chinese delegation was the first to visit the reclusive state since the Covid pandemic.
“Reaffirmed at the talk was the stand of the parties and governments of the two countries to cope with the complicated international situation on their own initiative and steadily develop the friendship and cooperation onto a new high stage,” KCNA said.
The meeting took place after Chinese and Russian officials stood shoulder to shoulder with Kim on Thursday as they reviewed his newest nuclear-capable missiles and attack drones at a military parade in the capital Pyongyang. Russia and China have opposed US-led efforts to impose more sanctions on North Korea over its pursuit of ballistic missiles in recent years, blaming US exercises in the region for raising tensions.