SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally greeted a top Chinese official in Pyongyang and called for stronger ties with Beijing, state media said Sunday, as the traditional allies seek to heal battered relations. Kim met with Song Tao, head of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee’s international department, who was leading an art troupe to attend a spring festival in the North’s capital. Kim is expected to hold summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in this month and US President Donald Trump in the following weeks. “The Supreme Leader said that he would positively carry forward and develop the traditional DPRK-China friendship into a fresh phase of development as required by a new era,” it added, using the North’s official acronym. More high-level exchanges and cooperation will follow between Beijing and Pyongyang, the report cited Kim as saying.

Source: Manila Times April 15, 2018 03:00 UTC