UPDATE 2-China's foreign minister to visit North Korea to bolster loosened ties
* Chinese foreign minister to visit North Korea April9-10
* Flights, passenger train between Beijing, Pyongyanghave resumed
* Visit comes before summit between Chinese, U.S.presidents(Adds U.S. context for Wang's trip in paragraphs 10-13)
BEIJING, April 8 (Reuters) - China's Foreign MinisterWang Yi will visit North Korea this week, his ministry said onWednesday, signalling efforts by the East Asian neighbours torevitalise ties that chilled after the COVID-19 pandemic and theRussian invasion of Ukraine.
Wang's last publicly known visit to North Korea as China'sforeign minister was in late 2019, following reciprocal visitsby the two countries' top leaders earlier that year.
"China is willing to strengthen strategic communication withNorth Korea and enhance exchanges and cooperation," a Chineseministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, said during a regular pressconference.
She called Wang's upcoming visit—scheduled over April 9 to10—"an important move to advance bilateral ties."
Beijing has worked to draw Pyongyang back into its orbit,after the COVID-19 pandemic froze exchanges and as North Koreanleader Kim Jong Un shored up relations with Moscow, sendingtroops and weapons in support of Russia's war efforts inUkraine.
Passenger train service between Beijing and Pyongyangresumed in March after being suspended for six years since theonset of the pandemic in 2020.
China's flag carrier Air China has also restarted flightsbetween the two capitals. However, the reopened links have notbenefited Chinese tourists so far, with bookings available onlyfor some business travellers and exchange students.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un travelled to Beijing inSeptember on board an armoured train to join Russian PresidentVladimir Putin and other leaders for a massive military paradein the Chinese capital, where Kim met with Chinese President XiJinping.
That meeting was followed by a visit to Pyongyang in Octoberby China's No.2 official, Premier Li Qiang.
"Preserving, consolidating, and developing China-DPRKrelations has always been an unwavering strategic policy of theparty and government of China," Mao said on Wednesday.
US SUMMIT
Wang's Pyongyang visit also comes ahead of an expectedsummit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. PresidentDonald Trump next month. Coordination between North Korea andChina could take place before the China-U.S. summit, SouthKorea's Yonhap news agency said on Wednesday.
Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in resuming directtalks with the North Korean leader in his second term, but nomeeting has materialised.
North Korea analysts have been watching the possibility of afourth meeting between Trump and Kim after they met three timesduring Trump's first term, most recently in 2019.
In February, Kim said there is "no reason" North Korea andthe United States cannot "get along well" if Washingtonrecognises North Korea as a nuclear-armed state and abandons its"hostile" policy against Pyongyang.
Subsequent state media messages have refrained from overtlycriticising Trump.(Reporting by Ethan Wang, Xiuhao Chen and Liz Lee in Beijing;Additional reporting by Joyce Lee in Seoul; Editing by HimaniSarkar and Janane Venkatraman)
