"North Korean Party Secretary Kim Sung-nam visits China"... High-level exchanges pick up pace after China's Fifth Plenum

[Financial News] North Korea's Kim Sung-nam, the Workers' Party of Korea's international secretary, left Pyongyang for a visit to China, Japan's Kyodo News reported on the 3rd, citing diplomatic sources.
Kyodo News reported that Kim had left Pyongyang for China leading a Workers' Party of Korea delegation and appeared to have already arrived in Beijing.
The news agency speculated that Kim's visit appeared to be aimed at seeking stronger ties with the Chinese Communist Party.
Kim's visit to China is also seen as a continuation of the trend toward high-level exchanges and stronger friendly ties between the two countries, coming just 10 days after North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un made a surprise visit to Dandong, China, on the 24th of last month.
During that visit, Kim met Wang Huning, China's fourth-ranking official and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and toured the Memorial Hall of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea and a local bus factory in Dandong with him, signaling a willingness to pursue political and economic cooperation between North Korea and China.
Kim Sung-nam also visited China in December last year and in March 2024, when he met Wang Yi, director of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Foreign Affairs Office and foreign minister. He also accompanied Kim Jong Un on his recent visit to Dandong.
With China having just concluded the Fifth Plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the two sides are also expected to exchange views on the meeting's outcomes and policy direction.
The Chinese Communist Party held the Fifth Plenum of its 20th Central Committee in Beijing from the 26th to the 29th of last month, strengthening internal unity and its foundations of governance ahead of the 21st National Congress, which will effectively decide next year whether President Xi Jinping secures a fourth consecutive term. 
To that end, the Fifth Plenum adopted a key decision document to continue promoting “comprehensive and strict governance of the Party” (cong yan zhi dang, “strict Party management”). It also reaffirmed its commitment to consolidating the authority and leadership of the Party Central Committee, with President Xi Jinping at its core, by establishing discipline within the Party, strengthening organizational control, and rooting out corruption.

[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, international affairs specialist Reporter