A large Chinese delegation has gone to North Korea for talks War Stories

Wang Huning, China’s fourth-in-command, held talks with the head of the ruling North Korean Workers’ Party.

Wang Huning, China’s fourth-in-command, held talks in Pyongyang with the head of the ruling North Korean Workers’ Party, Reuters reports, citing the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA).

The meeting is the latest in a series of high-profile exchanges between Beijing and Pyongyang following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to North Korea in June – his first in seven years – as China seeks to improve ties with its traditional ally.

The Chinese delegation arrived on Wednesday and met with Jo Yong Won, head of the Workers’ Party.

Wang confirmed the “will of the Chinese party and government” to implement the agreement reached between Xi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during Xi’s visit to Pyongyang last month, KCNA said on Thursday, according to Reuters.

Time last month between Xi and Kim, the two leaders adopted what North Korean media described as a “long-term plan” to promote “a very strong and strategic relationship”.

Xi has pushed closer to diplomacy, law enforcement and the military cooperation with North Korea during the trip, according to Chinese media.

Although Pyongyang has drawn closer to Moscow in recent years, including signing a security pact that saw thousands of North Korean troops deployed to fight Russia in Ukraine, China remains North Korea’s biggest economic partner.

During this week’s meeting, Wang also mentioned the 65th anniversary of the relations between the two countries, where Jo told Wang that North Korea wants to establish communication channels and strategic cooperation with Beijing.

The two officials discussed ways to improve people’s welfare and deepen cooperation between business and culture, as well as between the ruling parties of the two countries, KCNA added, without elaborating.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korea Studies in Seoul, says the flurry of high-level meetings reflects a desire to strengthen ties.

“North Korea wants to protect China from its economic and political influence, while China wants to maintain its influence on the Korean Peninsula and avoid losing its influence in Northeast Asia,” he told Reuters.