Seoul, April 10 – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reaffirmed his commitment to enhancing high-level exchanges and strategic communication with China on Friday, as he met with Beijing's top diplomat, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
Kim made the remarks during his meeting in Pyongyang with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who has been on a two-day visit since Thursday.
In a press release shown on the ministry website, Kim was quoted as telling Wang that North Korea "stands ready" to "further develop its friendly and cooperative relations with China," and "strengthen high-level exchanges, enhance strategic communication to contribute to the well-being of the two peoples as well as to global peace and stability."
Kim also told him that it is in the common interests of both countries to further deepen their bilateral relations amid the volatile international landscape, a policy he said North Korea was firmly pursuing, according to the ministry, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Kim voiced full support for Chinese President Xi Jinping's vision for building a community for a shared future and China's "legitimate" territorial claims to Taiwan, the ministry said.
Wang reaffirmed China's commitment to working with the North to make progress on agreements reached between the two sides, as well as to boosting exchanges and practical cooperation.
Their meeting came a day after Wang met one-on-one with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui.
Choe told Wang that Pyongyang is willing to strengthen ties with Beijing as the two nations mark the 65th anniversary of signing a comprehensive treaty on cooperation this year, according to the North's state media Friday.
Wang's trip came months after Kim and Xi pledged to deepen bilateral ties during their summit talks in Beijing last year.
In Thursday's talks, Choe told Wang that bilateral ties have been advanced to a "higher new level" under an agreement reached between the two leaders and that the North would further deepen the bilateral friendship under the common ideology of socialism.
Wang also recalled that Xi and Kim held a "historic" meeting in Beijing in September last year, during which, he said, they presented "landmark" guidelines for taking the bilateral friendship to a new level.
"It is the unwavering intention of the Chinese party and the government to greatly safeguard, solidify and develop China-North Korea friendship, regardless of how the international situation changes," the KCNA quoted Wang as saying.
The ministers also agreed to increase various exchanges and cooperation to mark this year's 65th anniversary of their Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance and to strengthen "strategic communication" and cooperation between their countries' foreign policy bodies.
In a banquet hosted for Wang later on Thursday, he referred to "a plot of escalating isolation and pressure by the United States and other Western forces," saying North Korea had made new achievements in this context.
The remarks could suggest that North Korea and China may align more closely in foreign policy, including toward Washington, as US President Donald Trump is expected to visit China next month for talks with Xi.
There has been speculation that Trump could seek a meeting with Kim on the occasion of his trip to China, reviving the one-on-one diplomacy he pursued during his first presidential term.
The KCNA, however, did not provide details on whether the foreign ministers' meeting addressed issues related to Washington or Trump's trip to China.
China's Xinhua News Agency reported Wang on Friday paid tribute to the graves in Pyongyang of Chinese soldiers killed while fighting for the North in the 1950-53 Korean War.
Wang expressed gratitude to the North Korean side for repair work on the graves, calling the site a foundation for the blood-forged relations between the two countries.