China backs N. Korea amid deadlocked nuclear talks as FM visits Pyongyang

China reasserted its backing for North Korea on Tuesday as its foreign minister visited Pyongyang, vowing to maintain “close communication” with its ally in the face of deadlocked nuclear talks with Washington, AFP said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Pyongyang on a three-day trip on Monday, just two months after President Xi Jinping became the first Chinese leader to visit the North in 14 years.

Wang told his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-ho that Beijing was ready to promote “close communication and cooperation on the international stage,” China’s foreign ministry said Tuesday.

Since March 2018, Xi and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have met five times, with China’s president seeking to weigh in on Pyongyang’s diplomacy with Washington.