Chinese foreign minister tells North Korean minister Pyongyang is making strides despite US ‘oppression’

SEOUL, April 10 (Reuters) – China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said North Korea has made remarkable accomplishments despite conspiracies by the United States and Western forces to oppress and isolate Pyongyang, the North’s official KCNA news agency reported on Friday.

Wang and his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui hailed their leaders for opening a new era in their countries’ friendly ties at a historic summit in September and pledged to further upgrade relations for the interests of their people, KCNA said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, on Thursday and held talks with Choe, who later hosted a banquet for him, it said.

“New achievements in socialist construction made by (North) Korea amid intensifying conspiracies of isolation and oppression of the U.S. and Western forces are the fruit of … the wise leadership of General Secretary Kim Jong Un,” Wang was quoted as saying by KCNA.

The two agreed it was their governments’ unwavering position to develop the relationship further despite turmoil in the global environment, KCNA said.

The two neighbours have been trying to revive their active and robust political and economic ties that had cooled with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and North Korea’s intensive push to forge strategic relations with Russia since 2023.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to host U.S. President Donald Trump next month. Trump has repeatedly expressed an interest in resuming talks with the North’s Kim.

(Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Daniel Wallis)