SEOUL – North Korean and Chinese officials have met in Beijing and committed to further developing bilateral ties, North Korean media said on March 24, as Pyongyang seeks to expand its diplomatic engagement after Covid-19 lockdowns.

A North Korean delegation led by Mr Kim Song Nam, head of the International Department of the ruling Workers’ Party Central Committee, was among groups visiting countries in the region that Pyongyang has maintained closer ties with.

In a meeting on March 21, Mr Wang Huning, China’s fourth-ranked leader, told Mr Kim “no matter how the international situation may change, the China-DPRK friendship, a strategic choice of both sides, will never waver”, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, using North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged messages early in 2024 and vowed to forge closer ties.

At the March 21 meeting, Mr Wang conveyed Mr Xi’s “heartfelt, warm” message to Mr Kim, KCNA said.

North Korea implemented tough border restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic, halting the flow of goods with China and Russia, suspending diplomatic exchanges with its main allies and cutting off routes plied by smugglers and defectors.

Some of the restrictions remain, and Pyongyang has only recently allowed more access to foreign diplomats, resumed some diplomatic engagement and increased trade with Russia and China.

On March 24, KCNA said Mr Kim held talks with Mr Cai Qi, who is the head of the powerful Secretariat of the Communist Party of China, on March 22.

Mr Cai said the friendship between the two countries was “formed in blood”, and has welcomed “a brighter future under the strategic guidance” of Mr Xi and Mr Kim, KCNA said.

Mr Kim Song Nam, an alternate member of the Political Bureau, also met Mr Liu Jianchao, who leads the Communist Party of China’s body in charge of managing ties with foreign political parties. REUTERS