North Korea, China agree to expand cooperation, open new chapter in bilateral relations during Pyongyang summit
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed during talks in Pyongyang on Monday to strengthen strategic communication through high-level exchanges.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watch a march-past as Kim holds a welcome ceremony for Xi at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on June 8.XINHUA/REUTERS
North Korea and China agreed to expand exchanges and cooperation across multiple sectors during a summit in Pyongyang, North Korea's state media reported on Tuesday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed during talks at the Kumsusan State Guesthouse on Monday to strengthen strategic communication through high-level exchanges, the Korean Central News Agency reported. They also agreed to expand cooperation in political, economic and cultural fields, opening what they described as a new chapter in bilateral relations.
The two leaders also agreed to hold commemorative events next month to mark the 65th anniversary of their Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance.
Kim and Xi exchanged views on international and regional issues and agreed to strengthen strategic cooperation and defend each other's sovereignty and safety.
"The two leaders discussed important issues to bring DPRK-China's traditional friendly ties to firmer ground," the KCNA report said. The DPRK refers to North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Kim said North Korea would continue to "maintain the DPRK-China friendship as the most important top-priority strategic work" and strengthen bilateral ties into "an invariably special, genuine and solid strategic relationship," according to KCNA.
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A photo from China Central Television shows portraits of Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un displayed at Kim Il Sung Square on June 8.SCREEN CAPTURE
Kim also reiterated North Korea's support for the "one-China principle," a reference to Beijing's official position that Taiwan and China constitute one country, according to the KCNA.
The KCNA called the summit a "historic occasion of clearly demonstrating the invincibility of the DPRK-China friendship, which has steadily developed in the common struggle for accomplishing the socialist cause and making a new milestone for the development of the strategic cooperative relations between the two parties and two countries."
Xi, who arrived in Pyongyang on Monday, is expected to return to China on Tuesday.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
