Premier Li Qiang will visit North Korea this week, the Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday.

The premier will attend celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea during his visit from Thursday to Saturday.

He will lead a party and government delegation to North Korea, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The Foreign Ministry called China and North Korea “traditional friends and neighbours" and said it is “an unswerving strategic policy of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government to maintain, consolidate and develop” relations between Beijing and Pyongyang.

Russia, meanwhile, is sending a delegation led by United Russia party chairman and former president Dmitry Medvedev for the anniversary celebrations, North Korean state media KCNA reported earlier.

Leaders of Vietnam and Laos are also expected to attend.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported last week that the North appears to be preparing for a large-scale military parade to mark the party's anniversary.

Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin were among a group of leaders attending a Victory Day military parade in Beijing. (Agencies)