SEOUL, South Korea (AP) \u2014 The foreign ministers of North Korea and China agreed to deepen bilateral ties and resist hegemonism, a likely reference to their pushbacks against the United States.<\/p>\n
Their meeting in Beijing on Sunday came about three weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first summit<\/a> in more than six years and pledged mutual support and enhanced cooperation. Kim and Xi earlier attended a massive Beijing military parade<\/a> marking the end of the World War II, with other world leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n The joint appearance<\/a> of Kim, Xi and Putin, the first of its kind, displayed a potential three-way unity against the United States, though it\u2019s unclear how far China would go in such an anti-U.S. partnership. <\/p>\n In a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui cited Kim as saying that further bolstering ties with China is North Korea\u2019s unwavering position. Choe expressed an intent to deepen and develop friendly ties with China in line with the spirits of Kim-Xi summit, the North\u2019s Korean Central News Agency reported Monday.<\/p>\n Wang said China maintains a firm position that it intends to solidify bilateral ties, saying it\u2019s necessary to boost strategic communications and exchanges, KCNA said.<\/p>\n China\u2019s Xinhua News Agency cited Wang as saying China oppose \u201call forms of hegemonism\u201d and stands ready to strengthen cooperation with North Korea in international and regional affairs. It quoted Choe as saying that North Korea \u201cis willing to closely cooperate with China in multilateral affairs, jointly resist unilateralism and power politics and promote a fairer and more just world order.\u201d<\/p>\n The comments likely referred to their countries\u2019 separate confrontations with the United States \u2014 China over strategic competitions with the U.S. and North Korea over its nuclear weapons program. <\/p>\n KCNA said Choe and Wang exchanged views on regional and international affairs reached a complete consensus on the issues, but didn\u2019t elaborate. <\/p>\n Kim\u2019s attendance at the Beijing military parade was his first attendance at a major multilateral event during his 14-year rule<\/a>. <\/p>\n In recent years, North Korea has been focusing on expanding cooperation with Russia<\/a> by supplying combat troops<\/a> and ammunitions to support its war against Ukraine. But experts say Kim now feels the need to improve ties with China, North Korea\u2019s biggest trading partner and aid benefactor, as he has to brace for the war\u2019s end. They say China, for its part, would want to maintain influence over North Korea, as bilateral ties reportedly cooled in the past few years. <\/p>\n