Ranking officials of North Korea and China met in Pyongyang days before North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's visit to Beijing on June 19 to discuss closer bilateral cooperation at the United Nations and other international organizations, sources said Monday, Yonhap reported.
The meeting between Zhang Chenggang, China's acting ambassador to North Korea, and Kim Chang-min, the North's assistant foreign minister in charge of international organizations, was held at the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang on June 14, according to the sources.
The two officials intensively discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation on the international stage at the meeting, which was also attended by other embassy and ministry officials, said the sources.
They also exchanged views on the recent detente on the Korean Peninsula and agreed to enhance two-way communications for closer cooperation on global and multinational diplomatic issues, the sources said.
The meeting occurred ahead of Kim's June 19-20 visit to China, triggering speculation that China will play a bigger role in easing UN sanctions and expanding international organizations' aid for the North.
"The Pyongyang meeting looks meaningful, as the two countries appear to be deepening coordination on easing sanctions on the North and increasing international economic assistance for Pyongyang," said an analyst.
"The United States is determined to retain anti-North sanctions until concrete denuclearization measures are visible. Thus, China, together with Russia and others, is expected to promote an atmosphere in favor of easing sanctions on the North on the international stage," said the analyst.
In May, as many as 200 Chinese companies participated in an international trade fair held in Pyongyang. The two countries are planning to open a new aviation route between China's Xian and Pyongyang in July this year.