Xi, Kim vow to deepen China-North Korea ties, citing “hostile” foreign forces

Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday vowed to strengthen relations ahead of the 60th anniversary of the two countries’ friendship treaty, citing “hostile forces”, for KCNA.

Why is this important: The report by the official North Korean news agency is intended as a message to the United States in the midst of nuclear negotiations blocked and escalating tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, as well as with Beijing, analysts say, according to AFP.

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What they say : The governments of the two countries “are moving resolutely towards a bright future by breaking the authoritarian and desperate maneuvers of the hostile forces on the basis of militant friendship and blood ties, even in a complicated international situation,” Kim said in a statement. .

• “Despite the increasingly widespread anti-socialist attempts of the imperialists and the rapid development of relations between or among countries following the Cold War, the deep-rooted relations between China and North Korea have ‘strengthened’, he added.

The big picture: The Biden administration last month extended by one year a decree in place for more than a decade, which declares a national emergency in the face of North Korea’s nuclear threat.

Go further: Biden’s Korean War diplomacy

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