China's Premier Li Qiang plans to visit North Korea this week, marking the highest-level Chinese visit since 2019

China sent fighter jets to intercept a Canadian air force plane tracking North Korean ships breaching U.N. sanctions.

Meanwhile, North Korean authorities are exporting various minerals to China, the source said, including coal, iron ore, molybdenum, zinc, copper and gold. Trading companies that export minerals are mostly large entities under powerful agencies such as the party’s Central Committee or the military.

It needs the United States for defense and has spent billions building factories in America. But a Trump trade deal this week with China could erase a Korean edge in the U.S. market.

"No Trump!" the rally of hundreds shouted, growing louder as it neared the United States embassy in the centre of South Korea's capital Seoul. A line of police buses stopped them reaching the gates, but a stage and loudspeaker ensured their voices would soar above Gwanghwamun square and within earshot of US President Donald Trump's representatives.

President Lee Jae Myung held his first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, where they hailed the Korea-China relationship and called for strengthened cooperation for the good of both countries.

North Korea has held a reception in Beijing to mark the 75th anniversary of Chinese soldiers' participation in the 1950-53 Korean War, vowing to develop its friendly ties with China, state media reported Tuesday.

China recently issued internal guidelines classifying North Korean defectors living in the country as potential national security risks.