Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang on Monday to begin a two-day summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Xi was met by Kim and his teen daughter, his likely successor, and Chinese and North Korea flags lined the streets as his motorcade drove into central Pyongyang for a welcome ceremony on Kim Il Sung Square, which commemorates Kim’s grandfather.
Officially, Xi is visiting to mark the 65th anniversary of their mutual defense treaty, the only such pact China has ever signed, inked just days after North Korea went into an alliance with the Soviet Union.
Xi’s last state visit to North Korea took place in June 2019. It was his first since taking office and followed a series of historic meetings between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019.
North Korea once again finds itself being courted by its two powerful neighbors, China and Russia, at a time of global instability. Trump may also be seeking an audience soon.
Pyongyang and Moscow signed a new security pact in June 2024, formalizing North Korean aid in Russia’s war in Ukraine, and last month, North Korea sent soldiers to march for the first time in Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow.
In remarks published in the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, Xi hailed the enduring relationship between the two countries.
“We must oppose hegemony and power politics, as well as all attempts and actions to revive militarism and endanger regional security and stability,” Xi said.
This is a developing story. More to follow.
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