▲ This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on July 10, 2021, shows the North's State Affairs Commission hosting a reception in Pyongyang ahead of the 60th anniversary of the signing of a mutual defense treaty between North Korea and China. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) N Korea-China

(LEAD) China's embassy in N. Korea holds reception to mark 64th anniv. of key treaty signing

(ATTN: UPDATES with comment from Seoul in last para)

SEOUL, July 10 (Yonhap) -- The Chinese Embassy in North Korea has hosted a reception to celebrate the 64th anniversary of the signing of a mutual defense treaty between the two nations, Pyongyang's state media reported Thursday.

The event came as North Korea's ties with China, the North's traditional ally, showed some signs of improvement after their bilateral relationship remained cool amid Pyongyang's close alignment with Moscow over Russia's war with Ukraine.

China's top envoy to Pyongyang, Wang Yajun, hosted the reception the previous day, attended by Chinese Embassy officials and North Korea's key officials, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

The Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance was signed on July 11, 1961, by the North's state founder Kim Il-sung and then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai.

In a speech, Wang said that "China will always firmly support North Korea's efforts to move toward its independent development, reaffirming that the spirit of the treaty will forever shine."

Kang Yun-sok, vice chairman of the standing committee of the North's Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), said the North will make joint efforts for the development of the friendly relationship with China.

Since the signing of the treaty, the embassies of China and North Korea have held receptions in the host countries every year to celebrate it. From North Korea, a vice chairman of the presidium of the SPA mostly attended such events.

But the North sent an official whose social status remains lower than the SPA's vice chairman to last year's reception. The president of the Kim Il Sung University attended it as the main guest, and the North's state media did not report the event in detail.

Some experts said China appears to be seeking to improve ties with North Korea on concerns that its influence on the North may diminish after Pyongyang and Moscow signed a mutual defense treaty in June last year.

Citing a higher-level North Korean presence and more detailed media coverage, an official at South Korea's unification ministry assessed that a "subtle change" has been detected in the North's handling of the anniversary this year, suggesting a potential improvement in Pyongyang-Beijing ties.

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