• 

China's Vice Premier and member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party CCP Liu Guozhong will head to the DPRK this weekend to take part in the country's 75th founding anniversary, state-owned news agency KCNA reported Thursday.

Liu will be accompanied by a Chinese delegation at the invitation of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party and Pyongyang, where they will attend celebratory parades held on Sunday.

Read more: Japan to keep tabs on Kim Jong Un's alleged upcoming visit to Russia

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning confirmed the visit later on Thursday without disclosing the visit's agenda or whether the envoy will be holding bilateral meetings with DPRK officials.

"At the invitation of the Workers' Party of Korea and the government of the DPRK, starting from September 8, Member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau and Vice Premier of the State Council Liu Guozhong will lead a party and government delegation to the DPRK to attend the commemorative events for its 75th founding anniversary and visit the country," she said.

This visit comes within just two months of high-level Chinese and Russian delegations making their way to Pyongyang. Additionally, the United States has claimed that DPRK leader Kim Jung Un is anticipated to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, possibly in Vladivostok, later this month.

Beijing and Pyongyang have maintained a strong and enduring relationship for decades, which has notably deepened in recent years, partly in response to the heightened US provocations in the East Asia region and its efforts to establish NATO-like blocs such as with Japan and South Korea, as well as with the UK and Australia dubbed AUKUS.

Read more: DPRK launches multiple cruise missiles toward Yellow Sea: Seoul