Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will travel to North Korea next week for talks with his North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong-ho, Beijing's foreign ministry said Friday.
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China`s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (Reuters) |
Wang will leave China on Monday for a three-day visit, ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told a regular press briefing, without giving further details on his trip.
The visit comes as North Korea has been ramping up pressure on Seoul and Washington amid a deadlock in its denuclearization talks with the United States.
On Saturday, Pyongyang tested what it called a new "super-large" multiple rocket launcher, marking the regime's seventh round of short-range projectiles launches since late July.
A source in Beijing said Wang could meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his stay in Pyongyang, adding that Kim could also visit China in return for Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to the North Korean capital in June. Kim has visited China four times since March last year for talks with Xi.
North Korea and China have been boasting of their strong relations following Xi's June trip which marked the first visit by a Chinese head of state to North Korea in 14 years.
Announcing the upcoming visit, Geng said China wants to play a constructive role in denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and establishment of lasting stability in Northeast Asia. (Yonhap)
