Berk Kutay Gokmen
09 October 2025•Update: 09 October 2025
ISTANBUL
Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday arrived in the North Korean capital Pyongyang to participate in the 80th anniversary celebrations of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).
It is the first trip to North Korea by any Chinese premier since 2009 and Li's first such trip to Pyongyang since taking office in 2023.
He is expected to hold a high-level meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and other senior officials.
North Korea is expected to hold a major military parade to celebrate the ruling WPK's anniversary on Friday night, and Li will conclude his three-day trip on Saturday.
The last high-level trip to North Korea by any Chinese leader was President Xi Jinping in 2019.
Li's visit came just a month after Kim attended China’s Victory Day celebrations in Beijing, which marked the North Korean leader's first appearance at a multilateral event since assuming power in December 2011.
Several other foreign leaders are attending the WPK events, including those from Vietnam, Laos, Russia, and Iran.
Top Vietnamese leader To Lam, who is the general secretary of the Southeast Asian nation's ruling Communist Party, reached Pyongyang on Thursday.
To is the first Vietnamese leader to visit North Korea in 18 years.
Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith was the first to arrive in Pyongyang, where he held a bilateral meeting with Kim on Wednesday, and the two sides vowed to strengthen traditional friendship and cooperation.
Deputy head of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, also former president of the country, will represent Moscow at the WPK's anniversary celebrations.
A delegation from Tehran also arrived in Pyongyang, which is led by Mohammad Ali Amani, the secretary general of the Islamic Coalition Party of Iran.
