Chinese Premier Li Qiang returned to Beijing on Saturday aboard a chartered plane after attending the 80th anniversary celebrations of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and paying an official goodwill visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Li's entourage, including State Councilor and Secretary-General of the State Council Wu Zhenglong, returned by the same flight.
When leaving Pyongyang, Li was seen off at the airport by Pak Thae Song, premier of the cabinet of the DPRK and presidium member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the WPK, and Chinese Ambassador to the DPRK Wang Yajun.
Premier Li returns to Beijing from DPRK
Premier Li returns to Beijing from DPRK
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside Bulgaria's Ministry of Defense on Friday night to protest U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and demand that U.S. military aircraft leave Bulgaria.
The protesters carried banners reading "Bulgaria says no to war! We want peace, not death!" and "Yankee, go home!" to voice opposition to what they described as an illegal invasion and to the presence of U.S. military forces in Bulgaria.
"We have gathered here to express our opinion that what the United States has launched is an illegal invasion," said Grigorova, a protester.
Several U.S. military planes have been deployed at Sofia Airport since February. Although the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense has denied that they were linked to U.S. military operations against Iran, saying they were deployed to provide logistical support for NATO operations, some Bulgarians remain concerned that this could drag their country into war.
The U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 launched strikes against Iran, plunging the war-torn Middle East into a new round of violence. Iran has retaliated with a series of counterattacks against Israel and U.S. targets across the region.
Bulgarians rally against U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran
