Chinese delegation meets North Korean officials in Pyongyang

A senior Chinese delegation led by top official Wang Huning held talks in Pyongyang on Thursday, July 16, 2026, with North Korean Workers' Party official Jo Yong Won, marking the latest high-level engagement between the two allies. The meeting focused on implementing agreements reached during Chinese President Xi Jinping's landmark visit to North Korea in June, his first trip there in seven years.

Wang, China's fourth-ranked leader, affirmed Beijing's commitment to carrying out the consensus established between Xi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. During their June summit, the two leaders adopted a blueprint to strengthen strategic relations and agreed to expand cooperation across political, economic, and cultural spheres through regular high-level exchanges. Kim had also reiterated North Korea's support for China's One China principle regarding Taiwan.

The discussions in Pyongyang also highlighted the 65th anniversary of the China-North Korea Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, signed on July 11, 1961. This pact remains China's only active mutual defense agreement. According to reports from North Korean state media, Jo expressed Pyongyang's commitment to...