North Korean Cabinet Premier Pak Thae-song met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday during his visit to China to attend events marking the 65th anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the two countries, KCNA reported Saturday. [Yonhap]
North Korean Cabinet Premier Pak Thae-song met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday during his visit to China to attend events marking the 65th anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the two countries, KCNA reported Saturday. [Yonhap]

North Korea's ambassador to China has published an op-ed in the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper People's Daily, stressing the traditional friendship between the two countries on the 65th anniversary of their bilateral friendship treaty. The piece is widely read as a signal that Pyongyang intends to keep its ties with Beijing steady even as its cooperation with Russia deepens.

According to People's Daily on Saturday, Ambassador Ri Ryong-nam contributed an article titled "The Firm Cornerstone of Traditional Sino-Korean Friendship," published on page three, in which he said the friendship between the two countries "is the strategic choice of both parties and the peoples of the two countries, and a shared precious asset."

The Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between North Korea and China was signed on July 11, 1961, by then-North Korean Cabinet Premier Kim Il-sung and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. It is regarded as the legal basis for military and political cooperation between the two countries and is considered a defining document of the Sino-North Korean relationship.

Tracing the course of bilateral ties since the treaty's signing, Ri said that "for 65 years, the peoples of the two countries have, in keeping with the spirit of the treaty, remained closely bound together through life and death, deepening their comradely friendship and solidarity."

The op-ed also reflected the increasingly complex security environment on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea has been expanding military and economic cooperation with Russia, while South Korea, the United States and Japan have been strengthening their security coordination. Against that backdrop, Pyongyang's move to highlight its traditional relationship with China carries clear strategic weight.

Ri said "the complex international situation and the unstable regional security environment are making the character and significance of the treaty stand out even more," adding that the peoples of the two countries must "unite more closely in advancing the socialist cause and firmly defend their sovereignty, right to development and security interests."

He characterized the Sino-North Korean relationship as a "special relationship," saying its distinctiveness lies "not only in deep traditional friendship but also in jointly advancing the socialist cause and passing it on from generation to generation." He said it is "the firm will of Comrade Kim Jong-un to strengthen and develop the bilateral relationship as a model of relations between socialist states."

He added that "carrying forward and developing the spirit of the treaty and advancing the Sino-Korean strategic relationship, with socialism at its core, in keeping with the demands of the times, is the firm position of the Korean Workers' Party and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."

Toward the end of the piece, Ri drew on the imagery of the Yalu River to evoke the enduring nature of the relationship. "The traditional friendship between Korea and China will flow on without cease, like the waters of the Yalu River, and be passed down through the generations," he said.

The op-ed coincided with anniversary events in Beijing. A North Korean party and government delegation led by Cabinet Premier Pak Thae-song traveled to China on Friday for a two-night, three-day visit to attend ceremonies marking the 65th anniversary of the treaty.

Earlier, during his visit to North Korea last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping held a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and proposed that the two sides "take high-level exchanges as a guide and grandly commemorate the 65th anniversary of the signing of the Sino-Korean Friendship Treaty."


kwater@heraldcorp.com