North Korean foreign minister Ri Son Gwon met China’s ambassador to Pyongyang and declared the DPRK’s support for Beijing’s policies “over the issue of Hong Kong,” the official Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday.

The meeting between Ri and Chinese ambassador Li Jinjun comes as North Korea appears to be restarting at least some diplomatic activity with its neighbors following a weeks-long national lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It also comes as Beijing moves to implement a controversial new national security law in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous territory, which has sparked widespread protests in the city.

“Ri Son