[국제]High-level talks between North Korea and China amid border blockade…Has the Taiwan issue been discussed?

[앵커]

Yang Jiechi, a member of the Politburo, who oversees China’s foreign affairs, met with the North Korean ambassador to China and said that “strategic” cooperation should be strengthened.

The meeting was held shortly after North Korea publicly supported China on the Taiwan issue and is drawing attention.

Correspondent Sung-woong Kang reports from Beijing.

[기자]

Yang Jiechi, a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China, met with North Korean ambassador to China Ri Ryongnam in Beijing.

It is unusual for the two Politburo members, dubbed China’s diplomatic command tower, to separately meet with a foreign ambassador.

Both Politburo members said they wanted to strengthen ‘strategic cooperation’ while continuing high-level dialogue with North Korea.

[중국 관영 CCTV 보도 : (양제츠 정치국원은 북한과) 고위급 활동을 이어가고 전략적 협조를 강화하며 양국 관계의 발전을 추진하고 지역과 평화의 안정을 촉진에 기여하기 바란다고 말했습니다.]

The meeting between the two is noteworthy as North Korea recently supported China on the Taiwan issue.

North Korea last week accused the US of escalating tensions by encouraging Taiwan’s independence.

In particular, he expressed anxiety, saying that the US troops gathered around Taiwan could be deployed to North Korea at any time.

For this reason, ‘strategic cooperation’ referred to by the Politburo Yang Jiechi is understood to mean strengthening a joint response to the United States.

North Korean ambassador Ri Ryong-nam also responded that he hoped the traditional friendship between North Korea and China would be further consolidated.

China’s foreign ministry said the two also discussed issues on the Korean Peninsula.

A declaration of an end to the war and whether or not Chairman Kim Jong-un will attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics may have been discussed.

Since this meeting is the most high-level contact between North Korea and China held amidst the difficulty of the summit due to border blockades, it is likely that there was a deeper dialogue than announced.

This is Sungwoong Kang from YTN in Beijing.

YTN Kang Sung-woong (swkang@ytn.co.kr)

[저작권자(c) YTN & YTN plus 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]