Chinese journalists return

[Anchor]

In the meantime, journalists from Chinese state media, who had withdrawn from North Korea due to COVID-19, have returned to Pyongyang after five years.

This means that North Korea has opened its borders only to Chinese media, which is interpreted as a sign of willingness to improve relations with China.

Kim Hyo-shin reports from Beijing.

[Report]

In Pyongyang, journalists from Chinese state media CCTV and the People's Daily sat down with the Chinese ambassador to North Korea.

Chinese journalists have returned after being withdrawn at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago.

Before the border closure, North Korea allowed resident correspondents from U.S., French, and Japanese media, but this time only accepted Chinese journalists.

During the meeting, Wang Yajun, the Chinese ambassador to North Korea, stated, "The North Korea-China relationship is facing new development opportunities," expressing hopes for improvement in bilateral relations.

The return of Chinese state media journalists to North Korea is also interpreted as a gesture towards improving relations with China.

As North Korea has been closely aligning with Russia, it has experienced a subtle cooling in its relationship with China.

Earlier this year, North Korean media broke with tradition by prioritizing a New Year’s greeting from Russian President Putin over that of Chinese President Xi Jinping, symbolizing the state of relations between the two countries.

North Korea's attitude began to change at the end of January.

Last month, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Pak Myong-ho visited the Chinese ambassador to send a message of strengthening friendship.

[Hong Min/Senior Research Fellow, Korea Institute for National Unification: "(China) seems to be making some strategic calculations in the process of either taming North Korea or understanding some of its underlying intentions."]

Amid the U.S.-led Ukraine war peace talks and trade war tensions, there is an analysis that both North Korea and China have increased mutual necessity.

This is Kim Hyo-shin from KBS News in Beijing.