China's foreign minister met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on Thursday.
Wang Yi and Kim reportedly talked about the rapid pace of diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula,... and reaffirmed their bilateral relations ahead of the summit between North Korea and the U.S.
Oh Jung-hee reports.
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on Thursday... according to Beijing's ministry of foreign affairs.
Wang arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday for a two-day trip,... following a historic inter-Korean summit last week and prior an unprecedented North Korea-U.S. summit to take place either later this month or early June.
What's been shared between Kim and China's top diplomat is not known.
But it's expected the two could have discussed last week's inter-Korean summit... as well as China's role in North Korea's move towards denuclearization and the process of putting a formal end to the Korean War by drafting a permanent peace treaty.

This is the first visit a Chinese foreign minister visits Pyongyang in 11 years.
Experts are seeing this as China's attempt to solidify its position in negotiations regarding the Korea peninsula... as last Friday's Panmunjom Declaration left open the possibility of China's exclusion from future talks.
The agreement between Seoul and Pyongyang stipulated... that ensuring peace on the Korean peninsula could be discussed either trilaterally with the U.S. OR through four-way talks with the U.S. and China.

Wang stressed China's role when meeting with his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-ho on Wednesday.
He stressed China will continue to play a (quote) "positive role" in seeking solutions to the Korean peninsula issue.
He also expressed support for North Korea's efforts towards denuclearization.
Wang welcomed the success of last Friday's inter-Korean summit... and said Beijing backs the improvement in inter-Korean relations as well as North Korea settling its security concerns.

China's state media reported that there is no concerns over a so-called 'bypassing China' as reported recently by international outlets... and that China has an indispensable role in achieving denuclearization and peace of the Korean peninsula.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.