China, North Korea hold high-level meeting amid missile launches

BEIJING – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held high-level talks with a North Korean Vice-Foreign Minister in Beijing on Dec 18, coinciding with Pyongyang’s launch of a missile capable of reaching anywhere in the US.

China always views its ties with North Korea from a strategic and long-term perspective, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement, citing Wang in his meeting with North Korean Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Pak Myong Ho.

Beijing is willing to strengthen bilateral communication and coordination and deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields, Wang said.

Wang and Pak exchanged views on issues of "common concern", on which the Chinese statement did not elaborate.

North Korea is officially China’s only ally. 

Bound by a treaty signed in 1961, both nations are to take all necessary measures, including military assistance, to help each other in the event of an attack or an attempted attack by a third country.

North Korea’s Dec 18 missile launch came after the firing of a short-range ballistic missile on Dec 17 night.

Pyongyang has condemned the US for orchestrating what it called a "preview of a nuclear war", including the arrival of a nuclear-powered US submarine in South Korea on Dec 17. 

All of North Korea’s ballistic missile activities are banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions, though Pyongyang defends them as its sovereign right to self-defence.

North Korea will continue to strengthen multilateral cooperation with China to "safeguard common interests" and "maintain regional peace and stability", Pak was cited as saying in the Chinese statement. 

Pak arrived in Beijing last week on a rare official visit ahead of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2024.

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