(2nd LD) China's premier tells N. Korea's top diplomat of intent to advance exchanges at all levels

▲ This Korean Central News Agency photo released on Sept. 29, 2025, shows North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui (L) shaking hands with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during their talks in Beijing the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

▲ North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui (C) departs Pyongyang for Beijing on Sept. 27, 2025, in this photo published by the Korean Central News Agency the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(2nd LD) N Korea-China-FM talks

(2nd LD) China's premier tells N. Korea's top diplomat of intent to advance exchanges at all levels

(ATTN: RECASTS headline; UPDATES with more info, photo throughout)

By Park Boram

SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- China's Premier Li Qiang met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui on Monday and expressed Beijing's intent to advance exchanges and interactions at all levels, China's foreign ministry said.

The meeting took place on the third day of Choe's four-day trip to China since Saturday, which included talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi the previous day.

During the meeting, Premier Li told Choe that China is ready to continue to deepen coordination with North Korea and to better safeguard common interests, according to the ministry.

He also emphasized China's willingness to advance its "traditional friendship" and "strategic communications" with North Korea to jointly promote "communist" projects. "China is willing to increase exchanges and interactions at each level to enhance mutual understanding."

China's Xinhua News Agency reported that, during the talks, Choe reaffirmed her country's "firm position" to solidify ties with China, while also expressing "complete support" for Chinese President Xi Jinping's key global initiatives and issues concerning China's core interests, including those related to Taiwan, the Uyghurs, Tibet and Hong Kong.

Choe said her country "expects to strengthen high-level exchanges" with China, enhance diplomatic communications between the two counties, promote working-level cooperation and deepen multilateral collaboration, the news agency reported.

The previous day, Choe held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and reached a "complete" consensus in their discussions on international and regional issues, the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Monday.

"During the talks, (the two sides) exchanged views on international and regional issues in depth and reached complete consensus," the KCNA said.

The KCNA did not provide details about their discussions on such issues, but the foreign ministers may have discussed common ground ahead of potential South Korea-China or U.S.-China summits expected on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, set for Oct. 31-Nov. 1 in South Korea.

Choe's visit to China is her second in less than a month, following her trip with state leader Kim Jong-un to attend China's high-profile military parade in Beijing on Sept. 3.

At that time, Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first talks in more than six years, signaling that bilateral ties, strained by Pyongyang's military alignment with Russia, are back on track.

Choe said the military parade "clearly demonstrated China's historic achievements, international status and comprehensive national power," during the talks with Wang.

Her country will "proactively work toward the deepening and development" of bilateral friendship in line with the Kim-Xi talks, Choe said, also reiterating Kim's pledge, expressed during the talks, that North Korea-China ties will never waver regardless of changes in international situations.

Wang described the Kim-Xi summit as providing "direction and a blueprint for elevating bilateral ties to a higher level."

Building on the common ground shared by the state leaders, China and North Korea need to strengthen "strategic communications," exchanges and cooperation to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability, the Chinese foreign minister also noted, reaffirming China's "unwavering" stance to advance ties with Pyongyang.

Wang also said Choe's visit to China would provide an opportunity to advance bilateral ties and promote shared interests between the countries.

The latest Choe-Wang talks mark Choe's first one-on-one meeting with a Chinese foreign minister since she became foreign minister in June 2022, as well as her first independent visit to China in that role.

The meeting came amid speculation about whether Xi will reciprocally attend North Korea's military parade marking the 80th founding anniversary on Oct. 10 of the Workers' Party of Korea.

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