China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit North Korea from Thursday to Friday, Pyongyang’s state media reported Wednesday, amid preparations for US President Donald Trump’s visit to China in May.
According to the Korean Central News Agency, Wang will visit at the invitation of North Korea’s Foreign Ministry. The trip — his first since September 2019 — is expected to feature talks with Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui and possibly a meeting with leader Kim Jong-un.
The visit takes place against a backdrop of rising speculation over potential diplomatic realignments among US, China and North Korea ahead of Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with some analysts raising the prospect of renewed engagement between Washington and Pyongyang.
In an apparent show of force ahead of the visit, North Korea conducted a rare series of back-to-back ballistic missile launches Wednesday.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles from around Wonsan, Kangwon Province, at around 8:50 a.m., followed by another launch at about 2:20 p.m., with the latter flying more than 700 kilometers. It marked the North’s fifth confirmed ballistic missile launch this year.
Analysts said the timing of the launches suggests Pyongyang may be seeking to assert its position ahead of diplomatic developments.
“The missile launches appear to be a show of initiative ahead of Wang Yi’s visit to North Korea,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor emeritus at the University of North Korean Studies.
“They are intended to signal Pyongyang’s stance in advance and to check China’s efforts to gauge North Korea’s position on potential US-North Korea talks ahead of a US-China summit,” he said.
Yang added that the launches also reflect North Korea’s continued hard-line stance toward Washington.
“By carrying out these launches, North Korea is demonstrating its determination to maintain a tough position toward the US — including rejecting denuclearization talks and seeking recognition as a nuclear-armed state,” he said.
He said the tests also serve to reinforce Pyongyang’s criticism of international sanctions.
“The launches aim to highlight what North Korea sees as the illegality and unfairness of United Nations Security Council resolutions and sanctions,” Yang said.
He noted that the use of short-range missiles carries a specific signaling function.
“By launching multiple short-range missiles, North Korea is effectively holding South Korea at risk while applying indirect pressure on the US,” he said.
Separately, North Korea fired an unidentified projectile from the Pyongyang area on Tuesday, which is currently under analysis by South Korean and US intelligence authorities.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
