China’s parliament chief to visit North Korea to mark its 70th birthday

BEIJING: China’s parliament chief will visit North Korea this weekend as President Xi Jinping’s special representative for celebrations marking 70 years since the founding of the country, state news agency Xinhua said.

North Korea, locked in a standoff with the United States over its nuclear and missile programmes, is preparing to host a number of major events for the Sept. 9 anniversary, including a military parade, possible visits by foreign delegations, and - for the first time in five years - a massive choreographed performance known as the “Mass Games.”

There had been speculation in diplomatic circles that Xi himself would go. Xi and North Korea’s youthful leader, Kim Jong Un, have met three times this year, each time in China. Xinhua gave few details about the visit of parliament chief Li Zhanshu, who is the third most senior member of China’s ruling Communist Party, in its brief report on Tuesday, aside from saying he would arrive on Saturday.

In a separate reports, the North’s KCNA news agency said Li would visit “from Sept. 8”, without saying how long he would stay.