A high-level North Korean diplomat based in Beijing met a Chinese party official on Tuesday, two days before South Korean and Chinese officials are set to hold talks in Tianjin that reportedly could include discussion of an end-of-war declaration.

Beijing’s Liu Jinsong, director-general of the foreign ministry’s Department of Asian Affairs, held talks with Jong Hyon U, a minister at the North Korean Embassy in China, on bilateral relations and matters of “mutual” concern, according to China’s foreign ministry.

While the ministry did not provide further details, the meeting came as Beijing prepares to host the Winter Olympics in