BEIJING – China’s top legislator Zhao Leji met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on April 13, expressing Beijing’s willingness to work with its counterparts to deepen trust and boost cooperation, Chinese state media said.

Mr Zhao, finishing a goodwill tour that began on April 11, is the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit the North since 2018, when Mr Li Zhanshu attended the 70th anniversary of the North’s founding.

“No matter how the international situation changes, the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK, created and nurtured by the older generation of leaders from both parties and countries, remains deep-rooted and strong over time,” Mr Zhao said in a speech, according to China’s Xinhua news agency.

DPRK refers to the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

In the speech at the opening ceremony for China-DPRK Friendship Year, Mr Zhao noted that the two countries’ top leaders have met five times in recent years.

North Korean state media KCNA reported on April 13 that Mr Zhao said it is Beijing’s consistent strategic policy to defend and develop friendly relations between China and North Korea.

“General Secretary Xi Jinping and General Secretary Kim Jong Un have indicated the orientation” for the development of relations between the countries, Mr Zhao said, according to KCNA.

Pyongyang has been seeking to expand diplomatic exchanges with its main political ally after lifting Covid-19 restrictions.

In March, a senior North Korean official leading a delegation to China met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and held high level talks in Beijing. REUTERS