North Korea’s Kim Jong Un made
his first-ever foreign trip as leader to meet China’s president in
Beijing, the official Xinhua news agency said Wednesday, ahead of
proposed summits with Seoul and Washington that could unsettle
nuclear-armed Pyongyang’s sole ally.
During the visit from Sunday to Wednesday which came at the
invitation of Xi Jinping, Kim held talks with the Chinese president who
hosted a banquet to welcome the North Korean leader and his wife Ri Sol
Ju, Xinhua said.
“I have had successful talks with General Secretary Xi
Jinping on developing relations between the two parties and the two
countries, our respective domestic situation, maintaining peace and
stability on the Korean Peninsula, and other issues,” Kim said at the
banquet.
Relations between China and North Korea had soured as
Beijing has backed tough United Nations sanctions to punish Pyongyang
for its missile and nuclear tests.
Analysts had earlier suggested Beijing had been sidelined by
Pyongyang’s approaches to Seoul and Washington, but Kim’s visit puts
China firmly back at the centre of the diplomatic scrum.
“Both Comrade Chairman and I have personally experienced and
witnessed the development of China-DPRK relationship,” Xi said, using
the initials for North Korea’s official name.
“This is a strategic choice and the only right choice both
sides have made based on history and reality…. This should not and will
not change because of any single event at a particular time,” Xi said.
Kim had not met Xi since the young North Korean leader took over after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in 2011.
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