China and North Korea have pledged to strengthen strategic cooperation and defend each other’s sovereignty, according to a North Korean state media report covering Chinese President Xi Jinping’s two-day visit to Pyongyang.
The two leaders vowed to “open a new chapter” in bilateral ties and expand exchanges and cooperation in political, economic, cultural and other fields, the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Tuesday.
It quoted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as saying that strengthening ties with China was the country’s “most important strategic mission”.
The Chinese leader on Monday said his country’s relationship with North Korea “stands at a new historical starting point” and that he had reached “important consensus” with Kim, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
Attending a state banquet in Pyongyang, Xi called the countries “good neighbours, good friends and good comrades” and highlighted their deep historical ties.
“China and the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea], linked by mountains and rivers and sharing a common future, have seen their traditional friendship passed down across generations and grow ever stronger over time through the test of the evolving international landscape,” Xi was quoted as saying.