The North Korean and Chinese foreign ministers pledged to strengthen ties and deepen alignment against unilateralism and hegemonism – in a potential veiled swipe at the United States – at their second meeting in Beijing within a month.Sunday’s talks between North Korea’s Choe Son-hui and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi were held against the backdrop of a possible China-US leadership meeting in the coming weeks, and close behind China’s Victory Day parade on September 3.“Pyongyang is willing to work closely with Beijing in multilateral cooperation to jointly oppose unilateralism and power politics, and to establish a fairer and just world order,” Choe said, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.Choe was part of the delegation that accompanied North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to Beijing for his first meeting with President Xi Jinping since 2019 and to attend a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.05:50China showcases new military hardware in massive Victory Day paradeFrom his appearance alongside Xi at the parade to an extended leaders’ meeting, Kim’s high-profile visit was widely seen as a signal of the firm ties between the socialist neighbours, despite speculation of strains over Pyongyang’s deepening security links with Moscow.