BEIJING – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is scheduled to make a two-day diplomatic trip to North Korea beginning Tuesday, marking Beijing’s latest attempt to rebuild relationships with Pyongyang that have deteriorated since the coronavirus pandemic began and North Korea increased support for Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.
The upcoming diplomatic mission represents Wang’s first publicly announced journey to North Korea in his current role since late 2019, when both nations’ highest-ranking officials exchanged reciprocal visits.
During a routine media briefing, Chinese ministry spokesperson Mao Ning expressed her country’s desire to “strengthen strategic communication with North Korea and enhance exchanges and cooperation.”
Mao characterized Wang’s scheduled diplomatic mission as “an important move to advance bilateral ties.”
Chinese officials have been working to bring Pyongyang back under their influence following years of frozen diplomatic exchanges during the pandemic, while North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has simultaneously strengthened connections with Moscow by providing military personnel and armaments to support Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.
Transportation links between the two nations have recently been restored, with passenger rail service between Beijing and Pyongyang resuming in March after a six-year suspension that began when the pandemic started in 2020. Additionally, China’s national airline Air China has reestablished flight routes connecting both capital cities.
Last September, Kim Jong Un made the journey to Beijing aboard his armored railway car to participate alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and other world leaders in a large-scale military demonstration in the Chinese capital, where Kim held discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Following that September gathering, China’s second-highest ranking official, Premier Li Qiang, made his own diplomatic journey to Pyongyang in October.
“Preserving, consolidating, and developing China-DPRK relations has always been an unwavering strategic policy of the party and government of China,” Mao stated during Wednesday’s briefing.
