Kim Jong-un praises Chinese envoy for ‘fresh heyday’ in North Korea’s ties with Beijing
- Ambassador Li Jinjun is returning to Beijing after nearly seven years, with new envoy Wang Yajun’s arrival apparently delayed by the coronavirus pandemic
- Analysts say friendly relations between Beijing and Pyongyang are helpful for maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.
Kim’s compliments were conveyed by his right-hand man Choe Ryong-hae, state news agency KCNA said. Li also met North Korean premier Kim Tok-hun before his departure, which was delayed by several months because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The North Korean leader is “very satisfied” that the friendship between Pyongyang and Beijing, “with socialism as the core”, entered a “fresh heyday under the leadership of the heads of the two parties today”, Choe said.
Li was praised for successfully helping arrange several summits between Kim and President Xi Jinping over the past seven years, and for developing friendly relations between the two allies as well as sharing good and bad times with the Korean people, Choe told Li.
In turn, Li asked Choe to express his gratitude to Kim and congratulated the North Korean people on “making progress in all fields of socialist construction”, KCNA reported.
Beijing in February appointed Wang Yajun, 51, the deputy head of the International Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, to replace Li as ambassador, but the handover was apparently postponed after Pyongyang closed its 1,352km border with its most important partner to fend off the Covid-19 pandemic.