Top diplomats of North Korea and China agree to deepen ties and push back at the United States

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The foreign ministers of North Korea and China agreed to deepen bilateral ties and resist hegemonism, a likely reference to their pushbacks against the United States.

Their meeting in Beijing on Sunday came about three weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first summit in more than six years and pledged mutual support and enhanced cooperation. Kim and Xi earlier attended a massive Beijing military parade marking the end of the World War II, with other world leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The joint appearance of Kim, Xi and Putin, the first of its kind, displayed a potential three-way unity against the United States, though it’s unclear how far China would go in such an anti-U.S. partnership.

In a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui cited Kim as saying that further bolstering ties with China is North Korea’s unwavering position. Choe expressed an intent to deepen and develop friendly ties with China in line with the spirits of Kim-Xi summit, the North’s Korean Central News Agency reported Monday.

Wang said China maintains a firm position that it intends to solidify bilateral ties, saying it’s necessary to boost strategic communications and exchanges, KCNA said.

China’s Xinhua News Agency cited Wang as saying China oppose “all forms of hegemonism” and stands ready to strengthen cooperation with North Korea in international and regional affairs. It quoted Choe as saying that North Korea “is willing to closely cooperate with China in multilateral affairs, jointly resist unilateralism and power politics and promote a fairer and more just world order.”

The comments likely referred to their countries’ separate confrontations with the United States — China over strategic competitions with the U.S. and North Korea over its nuclear weapons program.

KCNA said Choe and Wang exchanged views on regional and international affairs reached a complete consensus on the issues, but didn’t elaborate.

Kim’s attendance at the Beijing military parade was his first attendance at a major multilateral event during his 14-year rule.

In recent years, North Korea has been focusing on expanding cooperation with Russia by supplying combat troops and ammunitions to support its war against Ukraine. But experts say Kim now feels the need to improve ties with China, North Korea’s biggest trading partner and aid benefactor, as he has to brace for the war’s end. They say China, for its part, would want to maintain influence over North Korea, as bilateral ties reportedly cooled in the past few years.

Attention has turned to the makeup of the delegation China might send to North Korea when it commemorates the 80th founding anniversary of its ruling Workers’ Party next month. North Korea is expected to mark the anniversary with its own military parade to display new weapons targeting the U.S. and its allies.