China, North Korea hold high-level meeting amid missile launches

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi held high-level talks with a North Korean vice foreign minister in Beijing on Monday, coinciding with Pyongyang’s launch of a missile capable of reaching anywhere in the United States.
China always views its ties with North Korea from a strategic and long-term perspective, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement, citing Wang in his meeting with North Korean Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Pak Myong Ho.
Beijing is willing to strengthen bilateral communication and coordination and deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields, Wang said.
Wang and Pak exchanged views on issues of “common concern”, on which the Chinese statement did not elaborate.
North Korea is officially China’s only ally. Bound by a treaty signed in 1961, both nations are to take all necessary measures, including military assistance, to help each other in the event of an attack or an attempted attack by a third country.