North Korea says Kim met senior Chinese official as treaty anniversary marked

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met senior Chinese official Wang Huning and pledged to deepen ties with Beijing, North Korean state media KCNA reported.

The meeting took place as North Korea and China marked the 65th anniversary of their 1961 mutual defense treaty. KCNA said Kim welcomed Wang, a member of China's Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee, and other delegation members. It reported that Kim said the two neighbours had a fixed policy of further developing their traditional friendly and cooperative relations.

KCNA also reported that Wang said China's party and government would continue to place importance on friendship with North Korea and would maintain support for what he called Korean socialism under Kim's leadership.

The meeting followed Chinese President Xi Jinping's rare visit to North Korea last month, when the two leaders pledged to strengthen bilateral relations. The source report said tensions have risen on the Korean Peninsula as Pyongyang expands military cooperation with Russia.

The source report said North Korea has sent soldiers and munitions to assist Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. It also said China remains North Korea's largest economic partner, accounting for nearly 98 percent of the country's foreign trade in 2024, according to South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance.