China plays down visit delay

China has postponed a senior official's visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), but Beijing's policy toward Pyongyang has not changed, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

Chen Zhili, vice-chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, had been scheduled to visit the DPRK this month, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a regular briefing.

But "Chen has postponed the visit to the DPRK due in early June because of the schedule at home", Qin said, without saying when the trip may take place.