China Praises Pyongyang's 'Achievements' Despite Washington's Efforts to 'Strangle' It

SadaNews - During his visit to North Korea, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi praised the country's "achievements" despite the United States' efforts to "isolate and strangle" it, according to the North Korean official news agency on Friday.

The agency quoted Wang as saying during a welcoming ceremony held in Pyongyang on Thursday, that "the new successes achieved by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in socialist construction, despite the increasing efforts made by the United States and other Western powers to isolate and strangle it, are the result of the hard work and wisdom of the Korean people under the wise leadership of Comrade General Secretary Kim Jong Un."

For her part, North Korean Foreign Minister Choi Sun Hui praised the relations between North Korea and China as "having withstood all the storms of history."

This official two-day visit by Wang Yi to North Korea comes shortly after the resumption of air and rail connections between the neighboring countries, which had been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

China is the largest trading partner of North Korea and a vital source of diplomatic, economic, and political support for this isolated country, which is subject to international sanctions due to its nuclear weapons program.

In September, Chinese President Xi Jinping showed his alignment with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by rolling out the red carpet for him, inviting him along with Russian President Vladimir Putin to a large military parade celebrating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.