China's foreign ministry on Monday sidestepped a question on whether Chinese President Xi Jinping held a one-on-one meeting with a senior North Korean official who attended last week's military parade marking the end of World War II.

Choe Ryong-hae, secretary of the Central Committee of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, attended the Chinese military parade Thursday, along with about 30 heads of state, including South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Choe shook hands with Xi before attending the military parade, but it remains unclear whether he held a one-on-one meeting with Xi on the sidelines of the event.

Asked whether Xi held a bilateral meeting with Choe, and if not, whether it would represent a show of affront against North Korea, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei replied that both Park and Choe were "warmly welcomed by the Chinese people."

"China is committed to developing friendly and cooperative relations with both North Korea and South Korea," Hong said. "As for your guessing, I don't think that it is true."    

Diplomatic sources in Beijing have said Xi did not hold a one-on-one meeting with Choe, but it was unclear whether Choe met with other senior Chinese officials.

Chinese Ambassador to North Korea Li Jinjun has said the attendance of Choe at the military parade demonstrated the traditional friendship between the allies.

During a meeting on Thursday in Pyongyang with North Korean officials to celebrate the war's end, Li said that the attendance of Choe "attached importance of China-North Korea traditionally friendly relations."

Li also stressed the role of the North Korean military during the "anti-Japanese war," saying that both Chinese and North Korean troops stood "shoulder to shoulder" to defeat the Japanese Imperial Army, according to the website of the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang.

North Korea is China's only treaty ally, but their political ties remain strained over the North's nuclear ambitions.

The North's young leader, Kim Jong-un, has yet to visit China since taking power in late 2011, following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il. (Yonhap)