BEIJING - China’s third-highest-ranking official Zhao Leji will visit North Korea this week, Beijing and Pyongyang said on April 9, as the two countries mark 75 years of diplomatic ties.

Mr Zhao, who is a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo and is China’s top lawmaker, “will lead a Chinese party and government delegation to pay an official goodwill visit from April 11 to 13”, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

Beijing is North Korea’s most important ally and economic benefactor, their relationship forged in the bloodshed of the Korean War in the 1950s.

Mr Zhao is China’s third-highest-ranking official behind President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.

His visit will see him and his delegation attend the opening ceremony of the “China-North Korea Friendship Year”, Ms Mao said, which marks 75 years of diplomatic ties between Pyongyang and Beijing.

“China and North Korea are good neighbours linked by mountains and rivers, and our two parties and countries have always maintained a tradition of friendly communication,” Ms Mao said.

“With the joint efforts of both parties, this visit will be a complete success and promote the further deepening and development of China-North Korea relations,” she added.

North Korea’s state news agency also reported that Mr Zhao would “pay an official goodwill visit” on the invitation of Pyongyang’s ruling party. AFP