North Korea to welcome first foreign delegation since pandemic

A Chinese delegation will visit North Korea to take part in celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War this week, North Korean state media reported on July 24. It will be the first visit by a foreign delegation to the country since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.

A delegation led by Chinese Politburo member Li Hongzhong will travel to Pyongyang at the invitation of the Workers' Party of Korea to attend the 70th anniversary of the signing of the armistice agreement on July 27, 1953, according to the North Korean news agency KCNA.

The decision to invite the Chinese delegation marks a significant development in North Korea’s strict border controls against the pandemic, with the country not even allowing its citizens to return home since early 2020 in a bid to contain Covid-19.

In late March, North Korea granted a “special” exemption to allow new Chinese Ambassador Wang Yajun to enter the country, marking the first time the country has opened its borders to domestic tourism since the start of the pandemic.

World - North Korea to welcome first foreign delegation after pandemic — Li Hongzhong, Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress of China (left), is expected to lead a high-level delegation to visit North Korea this week. Photo: Nikkei

However, while Mr Wang entered the country to take up a permanent post, the delegation led by Mr Li will leave Pyongyang after the holiday ends, which would be a sign of greater flexibility in North Korea's enforcement of border controls.

North Korea is expected to hold a large-scale military parade and other events this week to mark the country’s “Victory Day” holiday. Soldiers and civilians have been training for the parade for months. The country’s largest nuclear-tipped missiles, as well as other military hardware, are likely to parade through Kim Il Sung Square during the event.

Before the pandemic, North Korea regularly invited dignitaries from friendly countries and even foreign media to attend its military parades, allowing the Kim family to show off its most advanced weapons to the outside world.

World - North Korea is about to welcome the first foreign delegation after the pandemic (Photo 2). — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and senior Chinese official Li Zhanqiu at a military parade in Pyongyang in September 2018. Photo: NK News

If a Chinese delegation attends the event, it will be the first to do so since a delegation led by Li Zhanqiu visited Pyongyang to watch a North Korean military parade in September 2018. The country did not hold a parade in 2019.

If Kim Jong Un chooses to meet the delegation this week, it could kick off high-level diplomatic talks between Pyongyang and Beijing amid rising tensions with the United States. The two allies have strengthened ties in recent years and bilateral trade has rebounded since last year.

It remains unclear what the short visit by the Chinese delegation will mean for North Korea’s pandemic control. Pyongyang has given no indication that broader changes to border controls are imminent, although rumors of a reopening have circulated since the start of the year .

Nguyen Tuyet (According to NK News, Korea Herald)

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