North Korea's Workers' Party Delegation Departs for China: Kim Song-nam Leads Trip to Beijing, Ten Days After Kim Jong-un's Dandong Visit
A delegation of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) led by Kim Song-nam, a member of the party's Political Bureau and a secretary of its Central Committee, departed for China on November 3 at the invitation of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Korean Central News Agency reported. On the delegation's arrival in China it was greeted by Sun Haiyan, a deputy head of the Chinese party's International Liaison Department, and North Korean Ambassador to China Ri Ryong-nam; Chinese Ambassador to North Korea Wang Yajun saw the delegation off at Pyongyang's airport.
Kim Song-nam has long overseen the WPK's international affairs and is its lead official for party-to-party exchanges with China. Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, who handles diplomacy with the United States, did not lead the trip; South Korean media read the choice as a sign the visit focuses on party exchanges and cooperation rather than on North Korea-U.S. dialogue. Kim Song-nam previously led delegations to China last December and in March 2024, meeting senior Chinese officials.
The trip comes just ten days after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's surprise visit to the Chinese border city of Dandong on October 24. The Communist Party of China has just concluded the fifth plenary session of its 20th Central Committee in Beijing (October 26-29), and South Korean media expect the two sides to discuss its outcomes and policy direction.
Separately, KCNA reported that a delegation led by Xie Chuntao, executive vice president of the Chinese party's Central Party School, arrived in Pyongyang on November 2 — a further sign of intensive recent party-to-party exchanges.
(Source: Korean Central News Agency)
Source: Korean Central News Agency
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：平壤顺安国际机场，朝鲜劳动党代表团由此启程。照片 CC BY 2.0，作者 Kok Leng Yeo，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, from which the Workers' Party delegation departed. CC BY 2.0, by Kok Leng Yeo, via Wikimedia Commons.
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