SEOUL - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un affirmed his position to develop longstanding ties with China, state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on April 14, citing Mr Kim in his meeting with China’s top legislator Zhao Leji.

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.

China is the chief ally and economic lifeline for North Korea, which has been hit hard by UN sanctions over its nuclear weapons programme.

Mr Kim expected both sides to “steadily carry forward and develop this durable tradition of friendship” so the two countries would see “responsible progress and successful fruition of the Year of DPRK-China Friendship”, KCNA said. DPRK refers to the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The talks were held in a “kind, sincere and comradely atmosphere”, according to KCNA, which said Mr Zhao and his delegation left Pyongyang on April 13.

Mr Kim also extended thanks to Chinese President Xi Jinping for sending a high-ranking delegation and a large-scale art troupe, KCNA said. Pyongyang has been seeking to expand diplomatic exchanges with Beijing after lifting Covid-19 restrictions. REUTERS