Pak Mong Hou, the Deputy Foreign Minister of North Korea, is on a visit to Beijing and met on Dec. 18 with Chinese Foreign Minister and Politburo member Wang Yi. Pak was the first and most senior North Korean official to visit China since the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic, and his visit is a result of the two sides renewing their relationship over the last few months. The visit comes at the same time as a further North Korean missile test, obviously provoked by the recent meetings in Seoul where the U.S. and South Korea promised closer cooperation in dealing with the North Korean nuclear “threat.”
Both ministers reasserted the close ties between China and the D.P.R.K. “China has always viewed China-D.P.R.K. relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, and is willing to work with the D.P.R.K. to strengthen communication and coordination, deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields,” Wang Yi said. While in Beijing, Pak also had extensive discussions with Sun Weidong, his Chinese counterpart.
