North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has met with a high-ranking Chinese diplomat in Pyongyang, amid a flurry of diplomacy following Kim's recent surprise visit to Beijing.
In this April 14, 2018, photo provided Sunday, April 15, 2018, by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, shakes hands with Song Tao, head of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee's international department in North Korea. North Korean leader Kim met the high-ranking Chinese diplomat, amid a flurry of diplomacy following Kim's surprise visit to Beijing. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
Song Tao, who heads the ruling Communist Party's International Department, led an art troupe to Pyongyang to attend an arts festival, according to China's Foreign Ministry.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has met with a high-ranking Chinese diplomat in Pyongyang, amid a flurry of diplomacy following Kim's recent surprise visit to Beijing.
Song Tao, who heads the ruling Communist Party's International Department, led an art troupe to Pyongyang to attend an arts festival, according to China's Foreign Ministry.
Kim made an unannounced trip to Beijing last month ahead of potentially breakthrough meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Kim said during his meeting with Song on Saturday that he and Xi "reached important consensus" in Beijing, according to China's official Xinhua News Agency.
Kim is scheduled to meet with Moon on April 27 in the Demilitarized Zone that divides the Koreas. He is expected to meet with Trump in May or June.
Fireworks explode in the sky in a celebration marking the birthday anniversary of the late Kim Il Sung, North Korea's founding leader, at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, Sunday, April 15, 2018. His birthday, also called the Day of the Sun, is the biggest holiday of the year in North Korea. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)
Fireworks explode in the sky in a celebration marking the birthday anniversary of the late Kim Il Sung, North Korea's founding leader, at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, Sunday, April 15, 2018. His birthday, also called the Day of the Sun, is the biggest holiday of the year in North Korea. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)
In this April 14, 2018, photo provided Sunday, April 15, 2018, by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, second from left in rear, and Song Tao, second from right, head of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee's international department, watch the performance of North Korean artists during a reception for Chinese art troupe in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
Kim made an unannounced trip to Beijing last month ahead of potentially breakthrough meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Kim's trip, during which he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, was considered an attempt to repair traditionally warm ties with China that have deteriorated over North Korea's development of ballistic missile and nuclear weapons technology and China's enforcement of United Nations economic sanctions.
In this April 14, 2018, photo provided Sunday, April 15, 2018, by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, greets the members of Chinese art troupe, as Song Tao, center right, head of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee's international department, looks on in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
Kim said during his meeting with Song on Saturday that he and Xi "reached important consensus" in Beijing, according to China's official Xinhua News Agency.
Song agreed that the two leaders had reached consensus, and said China is willing to work with North Korea to safeguard peace on the Korean Peninsula, Xinhua reported.
Fireworks explode in the sky in a celebration marking the birthday anniversary of the late Kim Il Sung, North Korea's founding leader, at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, Sunday, April 15, 2018. His birthday, also called the Day of the Sun, is the biggest holiday of the year in North Korea. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)
Kim is scheduled to meet with Moon on April 27 in the Demilitarized Zone that divides the Koreas. He is expected to meet with Trump in May or June.
Fireworks explode in the sky in a celebration marking the birthday anniversary of the late Kim Il Sung, North Korea's founding leader, at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, Sunday, April 15, 2018. His birthday, also called the Day of the Sun, is the biggest holiday of the year in North Korea. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)
Fireworks explode in the sky in a celebration marking the birthday anniversary of the late Kim Il Sung, North Korea's founding leader, at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, Sunday, April 15, 2018. His birthday, also called the Day of the Sun, is the biggest holiday of the year in North Korea. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)
Fireworks explode in the sky in a celebration marking the birthday anniversary of the late Kim Il Sung, North Korea's founding leader, at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, Sunday, April 15, 2018. His birthday, also called the Day of the Sun, is the biggest holiday of the year in North Korea. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)