North Korea’s premier heads to China for defence treaty anniversary as allies extend thaw

North Korean Premier Pak Thae-song will arrive in China on Friday for a three-day trip to mark the anniversary of a friendship treaty between the two countries, in another sign of improving ties between the two traditional allies.This year is the 65th anniversary of the signing of the China-north-korea-treaty-of-friendship-cooperation-and-mutual-assistance" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="161910" data-entity-type="event">China-North Korea Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance, Beijing’s only formal defence pact, and Pak will be at the head of a party and government delegation.“China and North Korea are traditional friendly neighbouring countries. Upholding, consolidating and developing China-North Korea relations has always been a steadfast strategic policy of the Communist Party and government,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Thursday.