North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sends envoy to China

Mr Choe, front right, is the most senior North Korean official to visit China since August 2012. BBC NEWS

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a special envoy to Beijing, state media has announced, amid cooling relations between the two neighbours.

Choe Ryong-hae, a top military official, flew to the Chinese capital on Wednesday, KCNA said.

The brief dispatch gave no details of the visit, which comes amid an apparent toughening of Beijing's stance in the wake of Pyongyang's third nuclear test.

The visit also follows weeks of high tension on the Korean peninsula.

China is North Korea's biggest trading partner and closest ally. It has traditionally sought to maintain stability in North Korea, avoiding any crisis that could trigger the fall of the regime and propel a flow of refugees across the border.

But in recent weeks, following Pyongyang's 12 February nuclear test and amid strident rhetoric from its leaders, China has expressed frustration with North Korea, with state media openly debating the benefits of close ties.

Beijing supported expanded UN sanctions against Pyongyang after its nuclear test and some of its banks have recently suspended trading with North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank.

The KCNA report described Mr Choe as director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army.

He has risen quickly under North Korea's young leader - last year he was promoted to vice-marshal and given senior positions within the party's key organisations, reports the BBC's Lucy Williamson from Seoul.

Kim Jong-un inherited the North Korean leadership in December 2011 after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il. The late Mr Kim visited China in August 2011 and his brother-in-law, Jang Song-thaek, who is thought to be a key adviser of the younger Mr Kim, in August 2012.

Mr Choe is thought to be the most senior North Korean official to visit China since then.

He appears to be the first top-level envoy publicly dispatched by the North Korean leadership to the region since the recent tensions, which saw multiple threats of attacks from North Korea and a show by the US of high-profile military hardware in joint exercises with the South

BBC News