North Korea vows to work with China to ‘safeguard common interests’ as Pyongyang launches fifth ICBM this year

Name: Satellite imagery suggests North Korea is supplying Russia with weapons through Rason port
Uploaded: 2023-12-18T10:00:28.000Z
Duration: 4 min 33 s
Description: Satellite imagery suggests North Korea is supplying Russia with weapons through Rason port

On Beijing visit, North Korean deputy foreign minister tells top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi his country will continue to deepen ties with China

Missile launch on Monday is apparent response to US-South Korea meeting to issue joint guidelines on nuclear defence strategies and news on military drills

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, meets North Korean deputy foreign minister Pak Myong-ho in Beijing. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China

Kawala Xie

Published: 6:00pm, 18 Dec 2023Updated: 6:36pm, 18 Dec 2023

North Korea said it will work with China on regional peace and stability as a senior delegation visited Beijing, and Pyongyang carried out its latest intercontinental ballistic missile launch.

North Korean deputy foreign minister Pak Myong-ho told top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi on Monday his country would continue to deepen ties with China to “safeguard common interests” hours after it launched its fifth ICBM this year amid heightening tensions with the US and its allies.

“The DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] will continue to strengthen multilateral cooperation with China to safeguard common interests and maintain regional peace and stability,” Pak said, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

Monday’s launch, which came after another short-range missile launch on Sunday, marked the most North Korean ICBM launches in a single year, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.

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Satellite imagery suggests North Korea is supplying Russia with weapons through Rason port

It was an apparent response to closer military coordination between South Korea and the US as the two agreed during a consultation meeting on Friday to issue joint guidelines on nuclear defence strategies and include nuclear operation exercises in next year’s military drills.