North Korean Foreign Minister Park Myung-ho visits China and holds vice-minister level talks
First diplomatic meeting since the 2019 meeting between the North Korean General Political Bureau chief and his visit to China.
Expert analysis suggests that North Korea’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs (Vice Minister level) Park Myong-ho’s visit to China led to the first high-level meeting between North Korea and China in four years, an attempt by North Korea and China to strengthen strategic cooperation.
On the 18th, Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, “As the Chinese government makes extensive efforts to strengthen relations with its neighbors, senior officials from both countries met in an unusual meeting and pledged to deepen cooperation.”
SCMP said, “This meeting took place as China prioritized relationships with neighboring countries to respond to external threats.”
According to the Korean Central News Agency on the 16th, a delegation led by North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Park Myong-ho held a meeting with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong in Beijing the previous day.
The Korean Central News Agency reported, “The two sides exchanged opinions on common interests related to the development of bilateral relations in 2024, the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between North Korea and China, and discussed strengthening strategic cooperation between the two countries in the future.”
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said on its website, “Vice Minister Sun and Vice Minister Park agreed to deepen the friendly cooperative relationship between the two countries and strengthen strategic communication and cooperation, taking next year, the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between North Korea and China, and exchanged opinions on issues of common interest.” revealed.
It has been four years since a high-ranking North Korean official’s visit to China and diplomatic talks were officially announced.
Prior to this, the most recent case was in August 2019, when Kim Su-gil, then head of the North Korean People’s Army General Political Bureau, and Miao Hua, director of the Political Operations Department of the Chinese Central Military Commission, met in Beijing and held military talks. It is reported that Sports Minister Kim Il-guk visited China as the head of a delegation during the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China in September and October, but there were no public diplomatic activities, such as meetings with the Chinese side.
Ian Chong, a political science professor at the National University of Singapore, analyzed, “The fact that high-ranking officials attended the meeting and (the two sides) discussed strategic coordination suggests that North Korea and China are making efforts to show cooperation.”
Professor Chong also said, “Given that this meeting was held after North Korea’s increased nuclear and missile development, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia, and Chinese-Russian bomber patrols, it shows that China will continue to pressure the United States and its allies in Asia.” and analyzed.
He added, “China’s actions can be seen as a response to attempts to strengthen security cooperation between Korea, the United States, and Japan and military cooperation between Korea and Japan.”
“Given the participation of high-level officials in this meeting, it is likely to attract the attention of South Korea and the United States,” he said. “The United States and its allies will watch to see whether this meeting will lead to an expansion of North Korea’s military activities or coordinated activities between North Korea, China, and Russia.” “It was predicted.
Meanwhile, after this meeting, North Korea continued its ballistic missile provocations for two days in a row on the 17th and 18th.
On the evening of the 17th, the 12th anniversary of the death of National Defense Chairman Kim Jong-il, North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) provocation from the Pyongyang area to the East Sea. This missile landed in the East Sea after flying about 570 km.
On the morning of the 18th, another ballistic missile was launched into the East Sea.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.