Wang Jiarui, the director of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is visiting the United States.
 
Sources in Washington on Tuesday said Wang arrived in the U.S. capital on Monday and is set to meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and other senior government officials.
 
Wang is in charge of exchanges between China and other socialist countries and has played the role of messenger on behalf of North Korea’s Workers’ Party and China’s Communist Party.
 
His latest visit is drawing attention as it could provide the opportunity for the U.S. and China to discuss issues concerning the Korean Peninsula, including the possibility of the North conducting another nuclear test. 
 
Wang has visited the North a number of times since the early 2000s. 
 
Wang personally delivered a letter from former Chinese President Hu Jintao to North Korea’s late leader Kim Jong-il when visiting Pyongyang between 2004 and 2008. He also played a pivotal role in resolving a deadlock in the six-way nuclear talks.