North Korea's vice defense minister attends Chinese defense forum

North Korea's Vice Defense Minister Kim Kang-il has left for Beijing to attend China's annual defense forum, Pyongyang's state media said Wednesday.

A North Korean delegation, led by Kim, flew out of Pyongyang International Airport a day earlier for the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, running from Tuesday through Thursday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

Officials from North Korea's defense ministry and the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang saw them off, according to the report.

Launched in 2006 by the China Association for Military Science, the forum is often called China's version of Singapore's Shangri-La Dialogue. This year's forum takes place under the theme of "Build Consensus on Stability, Advance Security Governance Together."

North Korea first joined the forum in 2018 and returned the following year, when Kim Hyong-ryong, then vice minister of the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces, led the delegation.

In the two most recent editions, military attaches from the North Korean Embassy in China reportedly attended instead amid souring bilateral relations.

North Korea's decision to send its vice defense minister to this year's forum follows a June summit in Pyongyang, where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to strengthen high-level exchanges.

Yonhap