Chinese Premier Li Qiang will visit North Korea for celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of its ruling Workers' Party of Korea later this week, Beijing and Pyongyang announced Tuesday.

Li will head a Chinese delegation of party and government officials for an "official friendly visit" from Thursday through Saturday, the Foreign Ministry in Beijing said, following an invitation by Pyongyang.

A delegation of Russia's United Russia Party, led by former President Dmitry Medvedev, is also scheduled to attend the celebrations, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported earlier.