Post by : Rameen Ariff

Beijing: China’s Premier Li Qiang will travel to North Korea this week, making it the highest-level Chinese visit to Pyongyang since 2019. The three-day visit, from Thursday to Saturday, will mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

China has always been North Korea’s closest ally and key source of support. However, in recent years, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has also worked to strengthen relations with Russia. Reports suggest that Kim has even sent troops to support Moscow in its war against Ukraine. Russia will be represented at this week’s celebrations by former President Dmitri Medvedev.

In a statement, China described North Korea as a “traditional friend and neighbor,” adding that it remains a firm policy of Beijing and the Communist Party to “maintain, consolidate, and develop” ties with Pyongyang.

Li Qiang, one of the top seven leaders in China’s Politburo Standing Committee and considered the country’s second most powerful leader after President Xi Jinping, has been handling more international visits as Xi reduces his travel due to age. Xi Jinping last visited North Korea in 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other international leaders will also attend the anniversary events in Pyongyang. Vietnam’s top leader, To Lam, the general secretary of the Communist Party, will make his first trip to North Korea since 2007. The president of Laos, Thongloun Sisoulith, will also be present.

China and North Korea have recently increased their high-level contacts. Earlier this year, Politburo member Zhao Leji visited Pyongyang and met Kim Jong Un. Just last month, Kim traveled to China, where he joined Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders at a major military parade in Beijing

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