BEIJING - China has appointed Li Jinjun, deputy head of the CPC Central Committee's International Department (IDCPC), as new ambassador to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

President Xi Jinping made the appointment in line with decisions made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said a press release of the nation's top legislature on Wednesday.

Li, 59, will be the second Chinese ambassador to the DPRK chosen from the IDCPC, following ambassador Liu Hongcai, who ended his five-year mission in the northeast Asian country in February and is now deputy head of the IDCPC.

Li majored in German at Shanghai International Studies University in the early 1970s. As a seasoned diplomat, he has served as ambassador to Myanmar from 2001 to 2005 and ambassador to the Philippines from 2005 to 2007.

China sent its first ambassador to Pyongyang in 1950. Li will be the 17th envoy.