North Korea and China seek to further strengthen cooperation in the ”Year of Sino-North Korean Friendship”; conflict between Japan, the US and South Korea becomes even clearer

According to the North Korean Central News Agency, Kim Jung Eun, the general secretary of the Communist Party of China, met with Zhao Leji, the third-ranked member of the National People's Congress, on the 13th of this month.
On the 11th, Cho visited North Korea and stayed there until the 13th. On the 11th, he met with Choe Ryong Hae, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea.
The two countries confirmed that they will strengthen cooperation between each other. China and North Korea have resumed face-to-face diplomacy since last year, which had been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and have been stepping up their efforts to counter the strengthening cooperation between Japan, the United States, and South Korea.
This year, which marks the fifth anniversary, has been positioned as the "Year of Sino-North Korean Friendship," and attention is focused on whether a summit meeting between Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be held this year.
The delegation, including Zhao, visited North Korea at the invitation of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and the North Korean government.
This is the first visit to North Korea by members of the leadership team since June 2019, about five years ago, and the first since the COVID-19 pandemic. Kim, who welcomed Cho to the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, said of Cho's visit, "The Central Committee is
"It demonstrates the invincible nature of the friendship between the two countries and is of great significance in further strengthening and developing the traditional friendly and cooperative relationship between the two countries in line with the needs of the times," Cho said.
"I want to work hard to achieve new results," he said, and the two sides discussed ways to further develop their friendly and cooperative relationship and issues of mutual interest.
Also in attendance were North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and Kim Yo Jong, vice director of the Workers' Party and the younger sister of Kim Jong Un. This year, which the two countries have designated as the "Year of China-North Korea Friendship," Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping are
On January 1, the two countries exchanged New Year's congratulatory telegrams. In the telegram, Kim said, "The two parties and governments of North Korea and China have designated 2024 as the 'Year of North Korea-China Friendship,' and will further strengthen the traditional friendly and cooperative relationship between North Korea and China in accordance with the needs of the times."
"I am confident that in the new year, the solidity of the friendship between North Korea and China will be fully demonstrated," he said, adding, "I hope that the two parties will work together to further develop this relationship."
Through the holding of the "China-North Korea Friendship Year" events, the two governments hope to strengthen exchanges, travel, friendly feelings and unity in various fields, including politics, economy and culture, and to cooperate in the joint struggle to maintain peace and stability in the region and the world.
"In recent years, as the two sides have cooperated and advanced together, the traditional friendly and cooperative relationship between China and North Korea has entered a new historical period," Xi said.
"In a new era and under new circumstances, the Chinese party and government always view Sino-North Korean relations from a strategic and long-term perspective. We will firmly maintain the traditional friendly and cooperative relationship between China and North Korea,
"It is our unwavering policy to make this relationship unshakable and develop it," he said. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, face-to-face diplomacy between China and North Korea has become more active, with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong visiting North Korea in January of this year.
Last month, North Korean leader Kim Song Nam, head of the Workers' Party's International Affairs Department, visited China and met with Chinese Communist Party leader Wang Funing, who is ranked fourth, and Cai Qi, who is ranked fifth.
These moves can be seen as an attempt to counter China, which is expanding its maritime presence, and Japan, the United States, and South Korea, which are deepening cooperation in dealing with North Korea, which continues to launch ballistic missiles.
At the Japan-US-ROK summit held in August last year, the leaders confirmed that they would "elevate the security cooperation between the three countries to new heights."
The Self-Defense Forces, the U.S. Navy, and the South Korean Navy conducted joint training in the East China Sea. Meanwhile, on the 12th, at the opening ceremony of the "Year of North Korea-China Friendship" held in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, North Korea's Choe Ryong
In a speech before Cho and others who attended the ceremony, Hae, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, said, "The greater the stride of progress between North Korea and China, the more vicious the imperialists' obstructive schemes become."
He emphasized the need for unity between the two countries. North Korea is also rapidly approaching Russia, and the conflict between "China, North Korea and Russia" on the one hand and "Japan, the United States and South Korea" on the other is becoming clearer.