Chinese leader Xi Jinping has categorically stated that Beijing's commitment to traditional friendship with North Korea will not change, regardless of the development of the international situation.
His position was expressed on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the two neighboring countries, which remains China's only active mutual defense pact.
The DPRK's state media agency released a statement saying that Pyongyang and Beijing are raising their strategic partnership to a new level. The statement comes immediately after North Korean Prime Minister Park Tae-song's visit to China.
Xi Jinping stressed that the Chinese Communist Party will continue to resolutely support the socialist cause of the DPRK under the leadership of Kim Jong-un.
International analysts in the region point out that the strengthening of this alliance is a direct signal to the United States and its Asian allies amid growing geopolitical tensions on the Korean Peninsula.