Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan arrived in Pyongyang yesterday hoping to maintain China's influence over isolated North Korea, according to Beijing experts.
In one of the highest-level foreign visits to North Korea in years, Mr Tang will meet his counterpart Paek Nam-sun during his five-day trip.
Today, Mr Tang will attend a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the neighbours.
The last Chinese foreign minister to visit Pyongyang was Qian Qichen in 1991. China and North Korea have not held a summit-level meeting since the death of former North Korean leader Kim Il-sung in 1994.
Professor Xiong Zhiyong, dean of academic studies at the Foreign Affairs Academy in Beijing, said: 'Since late last year, high-level visits between the two countries have resumed as China hopes to maintain its influence over North Korean leaders, despite a growing rift between the two countries in ideological and diplomatic approaches.
'Beijing's renewed concern in the development of Sino-North Korean relations was due to the recent crisis on the Korean peninsula as well as hiccups in Sino-US relations.