North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will make his first visit to China in six years to attend a military parade next week, the two countries said on Thursday.
The event would bring Mr Kim together with a group of world leaders for the first time since taking office in late 2011.
Mr Kim and Russian president Vladimir Putin will be among 26 foreign leaders who attend the parade in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the second World War and China’s resistance against Japan’s wartime aggressions, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
Hong Lei, China’s assistant minister of foreign affairs, told a press conference: “We warmly welcome general secretary Kim Jong-un to China to attend the commemorative events.
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“Upholding, consolidating and developing the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK is a firm position of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government.”
DPRK refers to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.
North Korea’s state news agency, KCNA, said Mr Kim will visit China at the invitation of Chinese president Xi Jinping to attend celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the war’s end.
It gave no further details, including how long he will stay in China and whether he will hold an official meeting with Mr Xi, Mr Putin or other leaders visiting China.
Others coming for the parade include the leaders of Iran, Belarus, Serbia, Cuba, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Malaysia.
No leaders from the United States or other major western European countries are expected to attend, in part because of their differences with Mr Putin over the war in Ukraine.
The parade is expected to feature some of China’s newest weaponry and a speech by Mr Xi.
China has long been North Korea’s biggest trading partner and main aid provider, but there have been questions about their relations in recent years.
North Korea has been focusing on expanding co-operation with Russia by supplying troops and ammunition to support its war against Ukraine in exchange for economic and military assistance.
But many observers say North Korea is expected to take steps to improve ties with China to revive its troubled economy, because there is a limit to what it can get from Russia and it is also unclear if North Korea and Russia would maintain the same level of co-operation after the Ukraine war ends. – AP
