North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un hailed “friendly and cooperative” ties with China while hosting Premier Li Qiang and other key foreign dignitaries for major celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party, state media reported on Friday.
China remains North Korea’s most important ally, though Pyongyang’s nuclear ambition has strained their vital relations at various times in the past decade.
However, North Korea plan to stage a massive military parade on Friday, using the spectacle to showcase its latest advanced weaponry, including powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
According to South Korea’s military, the North has been conducting “rehearsals mobilising equipment and missiles,” noting that a “high chance” that Pyongyang will hold the parade on Friday night.
A defence ministry official told reporters, “experts expect North Korea to get about 1mm of rain per hour starting late afternoon, so the parade should still be possible, though the weather may affect any planned air power displays.”
International Relations and Foreign Dignitaries
The celebrations come at a time when Kim Kim has grown more confident because of the war in Ukraine, securing vital Russian support after dispatching thousands of North Korean troops to join Moscow’s military campaign. Among the attendees at this week’s anniversary celebrations is Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev, who is the deputy head of its Security Council.
Kim praised Li’s visit as a demonstration of the “invariable support and special friendly feeling towards the WPK and the government and people of the DPRK,” using acronyms for North Korea’s ruling party and official name. He also lauded Beijing’s efforts to maintain and further develop “traditional DPRK-China friendly and cooperative relations,” as reported by the state news agency KCNA.
Last month, Kim appeared alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin at an elaborate military parade in Beijing. This gathering in Pyongyang follows reports from Seoul suggesting that a meeting between North Korea and the United States “cannot be ruled out” on the sidelines of this year’s APEC summit in South Korea.
Potential US-North Korea Talks on the Horizon
The celebrations in Pyongyang coincide with South Korea’s statement that a meeting between North Korea and the United States “cannot be ruled out” during this year’s APEC summit in South Korea. US President Donald Trump previously met Kim three times during his first term. He famously remarked that the two had fallen “in love,” but he ultimately failed to secure a lasting agreement on North Korea’s nuclear program. Since then, Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state.
In a joint statement from Moscow and Pyongyang released by KCNA, Russia’s ruling party expressed firm support for North Korea’s measures to bolster its defense capabilities. Sergey Radchenko, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, stated, “Kim’s greatest concern is how to assure the continued survival and international acceptance of his regime.” He added that a multi-vector diplomacy, including China and Russia, makes strategic sense for Kim.
