North Korea opens up to Chinese envoy while Beijing seeks better ‘understanding and trust’ with neighbour

Name: North Korea claims to test nuclear-capable underwater attack drone
Uploaded: 2023-04-04T10:00:22.000Z
Duration: 3 min 25 s
Description: North Korea claims to test nuclear-capable underwater attack drone

China’s new ambassador Wang Yajun is the first known diplomat from any country to enter North Korea since the pandemic

Wang made a statement in Pyongyang on Monday as the US, Japan and South Korea held anti-North Korea military drills in the region

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China’s foreign ministry has confirmed that its new ambassador to North Korea, Wang Yajun, has finally taken up his post more than two years after he was appointed. Photo: Weibo

Zhao Ziwen

Published: 6:00pm, 4 Apr 2023

China’s new ambassador to North Korea vowed to enhance “mutual understanding and trust” between Beijing and Pyongyang amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Korean peninsula.

“We are willing to work together with our DPRK [North Korean] comrades … and enhance mutual understanding and trust between the two parties and peoples, and continuously carry forward the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK,” envoy Wang Yajun said in a statement by the Chinese embassy in Pyongyang.

Wang made the comments on Monday when presenting his credentials to the North Korean foreign ministry.

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North Korea claims to test nuclear-capable underwater attack drone

He is a former vice-minister of China’s Communist Party International Liaison Department, which handles relations with other Communist states.

Wang was appointed to the post more than two years ago, but the Chinese foreign ministry only confirmed his arrival in Pyongyang in late March.

The new ambassador from Beijing marks the first time since the start of the pandemic that a diplomat from any country is known to have entered North Korea, which is yet to open its border to any inbound travellers because of its Covid-19 measures.

China’s new ambassador embarks on his role in Pyongyang as geopolitical tension is rising across the peninsula and East Asia.