China tells North Korea it wants ‘closer communication and cooperation on world stage’
- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi tells North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-ho during Pyongyang visit that the two countries ‘have always been in the same boat’
- The meeting comes as both nations face deadlocks in talks with Washington
China wants “closer communication and cooperation on the international stage” with North Korea, its top diplomat said on Tuesday, as both countries face a deadlock in critical talks with the US.
“Over the past 70 years, China and North Korea have always been in the same boat and moving forward side by side, no matter how the international situation changes,” Wang said, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.
“Standing at a new beginning, China-[North Korea] relations will definitely strengthen and look to a brighter future,” he said.
China fought alongside the North in the Korean war against the American forces in the 1950s and the two nations are military allies under a treaty, while China is also North Korea’s main economic backer. But the relationship deteriorated from 2016 to 2018 over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programme and Beijing’s support for United Nations sanctions against North Korea.
Beijing and Pyongyang have been working to repair the relationship, with Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meeting five times since March last year as they both seek more diplomatic leverage with Washington.