BEIJING: Chinese Premier Li Qiang will pay an official visit to North Korea this week according to a Beijing announcement on Tuesday.
This high-level diplomatic engagement involves China’s second-highest ranking leader traveling to the isolated nuclear state.
Li will lead a party and government delegation to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from October 9 to 11.
The foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed the premier will attend 80th anniversary celebrations for North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported last week that North Korea appears to be preparing for a large-scale military parade to mark the party’s anniversary.
During a Beijing meeting late last month, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi called on his North Korean counterpart to strengthen the partnership.
Just weeks before this announcement, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a rare visit to Beijing where he stood alongside President Xi Jinping.
The two leaders attended a parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II during that visit.
China remains a vital source of diplomatic, economic and political support for North Korea.
Pyongyang justifies its nuclear weapons program by citing threats it claims to face from Washington and its allies including South Korea. – AFP
