News / China / Koreas

Chinese FM in North Korea as diplomacy continues

Wednesday, 02 May 2018 9:51 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 02 May 2018 9:59 AM ]

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) is welcomed by North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Ri Kil-song on his arrival at Pyongyang Airport, North Korea, on May 2, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

China’s foreign minister has arrived in North Korea on a rare visit, amid a new round of diplomacy that offers hope to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Pyongyang for a two-day visit on Wednesday. He was greeted by Vice Foreign Minister Ri Kil-song and other officials at the Pyongyang airport.

He will hold meetings with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho during the stay.

A possible visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Pyongyang in early June is also among the top issues on Foreign Minister’s Wang’s agenda.

Wang is also likely to be briefed on the outcome of a landmark meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, which was held in the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone on Friday.

According to Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, Wang “could make the case for four-party talks” involving China, the two Koreas, and the United States to bring peace to the peninsula.

Foreign Minister Ri of North Korea paid a visit to Beijing last month. The two agreed back then to work toward formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice but not a peace treaty.

China, which has for long been Pyongyang’s closest political and economic ally, also hosted Kim last month.

But Pyongyang’s biggest diplomatic feat so far remains the sudden betterment of relations with South Korea — a long-time adversary. Then-CIA chief and now-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also earlier secretly visited Pyongyang and met with Kim, and a summit is also being planned to be held between Kim and US President Donald Trump in May or June.

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