North Korea’s foreign minister in China, meets Premier Li on her second visit in less than a month

In her second trip to China in less than a month, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui met Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday, as Beijing and Pyongyang continue to deepen high-level diplomatic engagement amid shifting regional dynamics.

Premier Li welcomed Choe in Beijing on the third day of her four-day visit and expressed China’s commitment to expanding exchanges and interactions “at all levels,” according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry.

The meeting follows Choe’s earlier talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday, where the two sides reportedly reached a “complete consensus” on key international and regional issues.

Li emphasised Beijing’s readiness to strengthen “strategic communication” and coordination with North Korea to safeguard mutual interests and advance what he described as the nations’ “traditional friendship” rooted in shared ideological and geopolitical goals.

Choe, in turn, voiced North Korea’s strong support for China’s leadership, including President Xi Jinping’s global initiatives and Beijing’s positions on Taiwan, Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong.

According to state-run Xinhua News Agency, she reaffirmed her country’s “firm stance” on deepening ties with China and said Pyongyang is eager to expand high-level exchanges, diplomatic communication, and multilateral cooperation.

Her latest trip follows her earlier visit on September 3, when she accompanied North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to Beijing to attend China’s military parade. That visit also included a long-anticipated meeting between Kim and Xi — their first in over six years — signaling a rewarming of ties after a period of strain, partly due to Pyongyang’s growing military closeness with Russia.

During her talks with Wang Yi, Choe described the September military parade as a showcase of China’s “historic achievements” and “comprehensive national power.”

She reiterated North Korea’s intention to proactively strengthen bilateral relations in line with the direction set by the Kim-Xi summit, asserting that their friendship would remain unshaken “regardless of changes in international situations.”

Wang echoed this sentiment, calling the Kim-Xi meeting a “blueprint” for elevating bilateral relations and reaffirming China’s “unwavering” stance on maintaining and advancing its relationship with North Korea. He added that Choe’s visit offered a timely opportunity to reinforce those goals.

This week’s meetings have also fueled speculation about whether President Xi might attend North Korea’s upcoming military parade on October 10, marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea — a potential reciprocal gesture to Kim’s visit earlier this month.

Choe’s latest visit also marks her first solo trip to China as foreign minister, a role she assumed in June 2022, and her first one-on-one meeting with her Chinese counterpart since taking office — underscoring the renewed momentum in China-North Korea ties.

With inputs from agencies