China’s special envoy stressed his country’s stance to steadily develop “traditional friendly relations” with North Korea during talks with one of the most senior officials in the Workers’ Party of Korea, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported.

Song Tao briefed North Korea’s Choe Ryong Hae on developments and details from China’s 19th National Party Congress last month in their talks in Pyongyang on Friday, KCNA said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping dispatched Song, head of the ruling Communist Party’s International Liaison Department, to North Korea a week after hosting U.S. President Donald Trump, stoking speculation that Song may be carrying a message from the Xi-Trump talks. South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported there was a good chance that the Chinese envoy would meet leader Kim Jong Un on Sunday, citing unidentified diplomats in Beijing.

China has not officially provided any details of Song’s visit to Pyongyang or his meetings with North Korean officials. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Wednesday that the visit was a party tradition, and that the two sides would discuss matters of mutual concern. China sent an envoy to North Korea after each of the past two party congresses, in 2007 and 2012.

To contact the reporter on this story: Heesu Lee in Seoul at hlee425@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stanley James at sjames8@bloomberg.net Sungwoo Park
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