N Korean leader meets Chinese senior official, fetes Chinese art troupe
Seoul: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Chinese senior diplomat Song Tao, and feted a Chinese art troupe led by Song, North Korean state media said yesterday, indicating closer ties with China following Kim’s surprise visit to Beijing last month. The North Korean leader on Saturday “warmly” greeted Song Tao and the Chinese delegation visiting Pyongyang to perform and also expressed his greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping after Song conveyed Mr Xi’s greetings to Kim, the North’s official Korea Central News Agency said. “He said with deep emotion that the Chinese comrades accorded cordial hospitality to him with utmost sincerity in token of warm comradely friendship during his recent unforgettable visit to China,” the KCNA said.
In late March, Kim made a rare visit to Beijing and met Mr Xi, Mr Kim’s first known journey abroad since he took power in 2011. The Chinese art troupe, led by Song, the head of the Communist Party’s International Department, left for North Korea on Friday for an April Spring Friendship Art Festival.
The art troupe performed on Saturday at the Mansudae Art Theatre, and the North Korean leader Kim’s wife Ri Sol Ju watched a ballet “Giselle,” performed by the National Ballet of China, but Kim was not present, the KCNA said.
At the meeting with Song, Kim also said the warm welcome was “due obligation and behavior of the host and close friend for him,” and would offer “all conditions for the Chinese art troupe at the highest level and on a toppriority basis,” according to the KCNA.