North Korean premier Pak Thae Song will travel to China for a two-day visit on Friday as the two allies mark the 65th anniversary of an alliance treaty.
Mr Pak is visiting at the head of a party and government delegation, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.
This is the first time in eight years that North Korea is sending its prime minister to China as the Asian nations continue to deepen bilateral ties. The last time North Korea’s premier visited the neighbouring country was in June 2018 when Pak Pong Ju travelled in a delegation led by Kim Jong Un for a summit with Mr Xi.
Ms Mao said that Mr Pak’s delegation was arriving to participate in the anniversary celebrations of the treaty of friendship, which China and North Korea signed in 1961.
The trip was confirmed by the Korean Central News Agency, which said that the delegation would participate in a ceremony marking the "Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between North Korea and China”.
The visit was announced almost a month after Mr Xi visited North Korea and met with Mr Kim, who said the two countries would maintain their friendship as “the most important top-priority strategic work”. It was Mr Xi’s first visit to North Korea in seven years.
In the course of that visit, the Chinese president said the ceremony marking the 65th anniversary of the friendship treaty "should be held grandly”.
Mr Xi and Mr Kim visited the North Korea-China friendship tower in Pyongyang honouring the Chinese soldiers who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War.
The leaders stressed the importance of carrying forward the traditional friendship of their nations and the spirit of resistance against the US, Chinese state media reported at the time.
China is the main trading partner of its smaller neighbour, which is under heavy international sanctions due to its nuclear weapons programme. Mr Xi said during the visit that China was willing to expand cooperation in a wide range of areas like trade, agriculture, construction and technology with North Korea, state broadcaster CCTV said.
