A senior Chinese envoy arrived in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) over the weekend to meet state officials in Pyongyang.

Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, led the delegation to DPRK at the invitation of the International Affairs Department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, Xinhua reported.

Media generally viewed the move as Beijing's effort to persuade the DPRK to return to denuclearization negotiations in return for aid and other benefits.