BEIJING (Dispatches) – China’s
President Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of cooperation between Beijing and Pyongyang in a “new situation”, North Korea’s state media reported Saturday.
North Korea, officially known as the DPRK, carried out an unprecedented seven weapon tests in January -- including its most powerful missile since 2017 -- with negotiations with the United States at a standstill.
It paused testing during the Beijing Winter Olympics, with analysts saying the decision could have been made out of deference to China.
Beijing is Pyongyang’s most important ally and economic benefactor, their relationship forged in the bloodshed of the Korean War in the 1950s.
In his message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Xi said Beijing was ready to “develop the China-DPRK relations of friendship and cooperation” under a “new situation”, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
KCNA did not further elaborate on what the “new situation” entailed.
In his verbal message earlier in the week, the North Korean leader pledged to further boost cooperation with China and together “frustrate” threats and hostile policies from the U.S. and its allies.
The message was delivered to Xi to mark Sunday’s closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the country’s ruling party-run Rodong Sinmun said on Tuesday.
The two sides “are strengthening strategic cooperation and unity to destroy the undisguised hostile policy and military threat of the United States and its followers and defend and advance the common cause of socialism,” Kim wrote to Xi.
He further praised Xi’s leadership and said China had “left an indelible trace in the history of the Olympics with its indefatigable efforts” despite “unprecedentedly severe health crisis and the hostile forces’ maneuvers”.
Washington has repeatedly called on Beijing, which accounts for 90 percent of Pyongyang’s foreign trade, to put more economic pressure on North Korea, amid tensions over its military program.
North Korea has been reeling under a series of UN sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear and missile programs. Pyongyang has firmly defended its military programs as a deterrent against the hostile policies of the US and its regional allies, including South Korea and Japan.
Earlier this month, China and other countries blocked a U.S.-drafted UNSC joint statement against North Korea’s missile launches, and urged Washington to be more flexible in dealings with Pyongyang.
During a closed-door UNSC meeting held on February 4 at Washington’s request, China’s UN Ambassador Zhang Jun insisted that the key to easing tensions with North Korea was in the hands of the U.S., saying, “If they do want to see some new breakthrough, they should show more sincerity and flexibility.”