China's top legislator to visit N. Korea, strengthen traditional friendship

China and North Korea are set to engage in the most senior-level diplomatic activity since 2019 as China's top legislator Zhao Leji will visit North Korea from Thursday to Saturday.

Chinese analysts said that the friendship and close ties between China and North Korea will add certainty to the Korean Peninsula, and China will help North Korea realize post-pandemic recovery. 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning announced on Tuesday Zhao's visit to North Korea, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

This is the highest-level diplomatic activity between the two countries since 2019, and Zhao is the most senior Chinese leader to visit North Korea since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes the event not only significant to China-North Korea relations, but also to the regional situation. 

Wang Junsheng, a research fellow of East Asian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times on Wednesday that in 2024, the friendship year for the two countries, the two sides will have deeper and closer strategic communication to overcome the challenges brought about by the profound changes of the international situation.

"Apart from senior official exchanges, the two countries will also have exchanges between youths, think tanks, and literature and artistic circles. These will further improve the China-North Korea friendship in broader areas," Wang noted. 

Zheng Jiyong, director of the Center for Korean Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the Korean Peninsula is now at a sensitive moment, as the tension between North Korea and the US-South Korea alliance is getting increasingly heightened, and the strengthening of China-North Korea ties will add certainty to the regional security situation and prevent a potential crisis. 

Chinese experts said development and economic recovery after the pandemic is always a key mission for the Workers' Party of Korea, and the friendship with China will help North Korea to effectively boost its recovery. Pyongyang is also seeking greater strategic influence in the region at a time when the world is experiencing turbulence, so this is why North Korea is actively further developing ties with major powers like China and Russia, as well as other socialist countries like Vietnam and Laos. 

China will help North Korea overcome its challenges and realize sustainable development to benefit the North Korean people, as the stability and prosperity of a neighbor serves not only China's national interest, but also regional peace and development, experts said.