North Korea and China commemorated the 64th anniversary of the Sino-North Korean Friendship Treaty with a celebratory event in Pyongyang, reaffirming their bilateral ties. This year’s event, which restored the status of attendees to previous levels, suggested an improvement in relations between the two nations.
On Thursday, the Workers’ Party’s official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported that the Chinese Embassy in North Korea hosted a banquet to mark the treaty’s anniversary.
The North Korean delegation included Kang Yun Sok, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly; Moon Song Hyok, Deputy Minister of the Party Central Committee; Pak Myong Ho, Deputy Foreign Minister; and Ri Chang Sik, Deputy Minister of Education. Wang Yajun, the Chinese Ambassador to North Korea, welcomed them.
In his address, Ambassador Wang stated that over the past 64 years, since the signing of the treaty that set the course for the ongoing development of China-North Korea relations, the strategic guidance of both parties’ leaders has deepened exchanges and cooperation across various sectors, nurturing the two nations’ traditional friendship.
He emphasized that China would continue to steadfastly support North Korea’s path of independent development, adding that the treaty’s spirit of friendship and mutual assistance would endure indefinitely.
Vice Chairman Kang responded by pledging to uphold the treaty’s spirit and work jointly to foster ongoing development in friendly cooperation, in line with the noble intentions of both parties’ leaders.
The newspaper also reported that a similar banquet was held at the Chinese Consulate General in Chongjin, North Hamgyong Province.
North Korea and China signed the Sino-North Korean Mutual Aid and Cooperation Treaty on July 11, 1961. The treaty includes an automatic military intervention clause, requiring one party to provide military assistance if the other faces invasion by certain allied countries. Since then, they have held annual commemorative banquets.
Typically, North Korea is represented at these events by the Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly, equivalent to South Korea’s National Assembly. However, last year’s banquet saw a lower-ranking official, Kim Seung Chan, Chairman of the North Korea-China Friendship Committee and President of Kim Il Sung University, attend as the guest of honor.
Moreover, while North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency reported that commemorative speeches were made at last year’s banquet, it did not provide specifics on speakers or content. China’s Xinhua News Agency notably did not report on the event, signaling potential tensions in Sino-North Korean relations.
This year, North Korea’s decision to once again send a Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly to the banquet, coupled with more detailed media coverage of attendees’ remarks, suggests a rekindling of closeness between the two nations.