SEOUL/BEIJING -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday, Beijing's foreign ministry said, following Kim's historic summit with his South Korean counterpart last week.

On the social media site Weibo, the Chinese government issued a short statement on Kim's meeting with Wang without disclosing details.

The top Chinese diplomat arrived in the North on Wednesday for a two-day trip as the two nations seek to mend ties.

It is the first visit to North Korea by a Chinese foreign minister in 11 years.

The trip came as President Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un held a historic summit last Friday, reaffirming the goal of "complete" denuclearization of the peninsula. Kim is also set to meet with US President Donald Trump as early as May.

Wang also met with North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho on Wednesday to discuss ways to improve the two countries' ties and the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the North's state media said.

The Korean Central News Agency said Ri and Wang had an "in-depth" discussion on the issues of developing North Korea-China "friendly and cooperative" relations following a summit in Beijing between the leaders of the two nations in late March.

"They also candidly exchanged their opinions on the matters of mutual concern, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula," the report said.

The North's long frozen relations with China have begun to thaw following Kim Jong-un's surprise visit to Beijing in March ahead of his summits with South Korea and the United States.

China, North Korea's only remaining ally and economic lifeline, had seen its ties with the North strained due to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile provocations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to visit North Korea after the Kim-Trump summit.

Trump said in late April that he will meet with the North's leader in three to four weeks to discuss the denuclearization of the regime.

A joint declaration issued after last week's inter-Korean summit said the two Koreas agreed to seek trilateral meetings involving them and the United States or four-way talks also joined by China to discuss a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

China has complained about the possibility of being left behind in the peacemaking process on the peninsula.

Beijing's active engagement with the North is seen as an attempt to raise its voice over the establishment of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, experts say. (Yonhap)