China’s Xi Jinping arrives in North Korea

Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Pyongyang on Monday for a two-day visit, his first to North Korea since 2019.

In an article published by Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, on Monday morning, Xi said the combat friendship “forged in blood” and comradely bond of mutual trust between the two countries stood the test of time and the changing international landscape.

Xi pledged to deepen strategic communication and interact frequently “like relatives”, including between the parties, governments, and militaries.

“Standing at a new historical starting point… China is willing to work with the DPRK to take the bilateral relationship to a strategic height, and promote its greater development in keeping with the times,” he wrote, referring to North Korea by its official name.

The state visit is seen as a reciprocal gesture after Kim visited Beijing last September to attend a massive military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The ceremony saw Xi, Kim and their Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin standing side by side in Tiananmen Square in what was widely seen as a rare display of solidarity among three nations facing mounting pressure from the United States and its allies.