North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held talks with Wang Huning, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and pledged to deepen ties with Beijing, according to state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Wang is leading a Chinese delegation that arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday. Thursday's high-level summit is the latest in a series of meetings following Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to North Korea in June, the first in seven years.

Analysts view these meetings as China's effort to reinforce its influence over its traditional ally as North Korea's ties with Russia grow. Despite Pyongyang's close relationship with Moscow, including a strategic defense agreement and deployment of North Korean troops to Ukraine, China remains North Korea's largest economic partner.

Kim and Wang agreed to implement the agreements reached during Xi's visit, which North Korean state media described as a "far-reaching blueprint" for strengthening "the most powerful and strategic relations." Xi had pushed for closer diplomatic, law enforcement, and military cooperation with North Korea.

Kim stated that it is the neighboring nations' "steadfast policy … to more vigorously develop the traditional friendly and cooperative relations." Wang said that China's "firm support for the cause of Korean socialism led by Comrade General Secretary Kim Jong Un will never be changed."

During the trip, the Chinese delegation visited a memorial site for Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War, a Workers' Party cadre training school, and a mausoleum where the bodies of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are preserved.

Source: www.aljazeera.com