A senior diplomat from China is visiting North Korea amid South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises. The military drills are a show of force to North Korea, which sank a South Korean naval vessel in March.

China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported Wednesday that Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said that Hu Zhengyue, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Asia, is currently visiting Pyongyang on the North’s invitation.

Jiang said this visit is part of general bilateral exchanges, refusing to mention schedules or the objective of the visit.

North Korea has threatened to respond with nuclear deterrence to the South Korea-U.S. military drills, and China has also warned that the exercises would heighten tensions in the region.