The first reported foreign visitors since Pyongyang’s 2020 pandemic border shutdown will be Chinese diplomats who will attend a “grand” Korean War armistice anniversary party this week.
According to state media, Pyongyang will commemorate Victory Day, which is celebrated on the anniversary of the signing of the armistice, in a “grand manner that will go down in history.”
A Chinese delegation headed by Politburo member Li Hongzhong would visit the North for the occasion, according to reports from the official Korean Central News Agency and Beijing, making it the first known foreign delegation visit since the outbreak began.
Since the beginning of 2020, North Korea has been subject to a strict self-imposed coronavirus blockade to defend itself from Covid-19, which has stopped even its own citizens from entering the nation.
It only partially reopened trade relations with China last year and gave Beijing’s new envoy permission to start working earlier this year.
Beijing announced that the delegation will arrive in Pyongyang on Wednesday, indicating that a lengthy quarantine would not be necessary before the Thursday anniversary celebration.
On July 27, 1953, hostilities in the Korean War came to an end, but because there was never a peace treaty to replace it, the two Koreas are still considered to be at war.
This week, North Korea is set to commemorate the anniversary with a large-scale military parade and other activities. According to NK News, a specialist website headquartered in Seoul, satellite photographs show that soldiers and civilians have been practicing for the march for months.
Largest nuclear-capable missiles and other military prowess belonging to leader Kim Jong Un are set to pass through Kim Il Sung Square during the parade, it claimed.
