Chinese Premier Li Qiang will lead a high-level delegation to North Korea from Thursday to Saturday, the first such trip by a Beijing leader since 2019, to attend commemorations for the 80th anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea, underscoring the enduring alliance between the two nations amid Pyongyang's growing military ties with Russia.

The Foreign Ministry announced the visit Tuesday, framing China and North Korea as "traditional friends and neighbors" and reaffirming Beijing's "unswerving strategic policy" to nurture the relationship.

Li, No. 2 in the Communist Party hierarchy behind President Xi Jinping, will represent China at events marking the party's founding, a cornerstone of Kim Jong Un's rule since taking power in 2011.

Russia, another key partner for Pyongyang, is dispatching former President Dmitri Medvedev to the celebrations, per North Korea's KCNA agency Monday.

Vietnam's top leader To Lam and Laos' Thongloun Sisoulith will also attend, highlighting a rare gathering of communist states' heavyweights.

To Lam's trip marks Vietnam's first to the North since 2007, signaling regional solidarity against U.S. influence in Asia.

Li's role as premier has seen him shoulder more foreign engagements as Xi, 72, trims travel amid domestic priorities. Recent contacts, including Politburo member Zhao Leji's April Pyongyang visit and Kim's September Beijing parade alongside Xi and Vladimir Putin, reflect realignment.

North Korea's troop deployments to Ukraine and missile tests have bolstered Moscow ties, balancing China's economic lifeline.The summit arrives as U.S.-South Korea drills escalate tensions, with Kim vowing "nuclear counteraction" last week.