According to Chinese state media, President Xi Jinping has agreed to visit Pyongyang. Preisdent Xi and North Korea leader Kim Jung Un met this week in Beijing where they had several meetings.
Kim had been on a four day trip in China during which he visited a pharmaceutical company producing traditional Chinese medicine.
The agreement of President Xi going to North Korea has yet to be confirmed by Beijing. Analyst assume that the Chinese government has not yet confirmed Xi’s plan because the country does not want to intensify tensions with the United States.
The Korean Central News Agency reported that “Xi accepted the offer [to visit Pyongyang]” but it did not provide further details.
North Korea has repeatedly invited President Xi to come to its capital Pyongyang but Xi never went. Kim Jung Un, on the other hand, has now been four times to China since he became leader in 2011; the last three being within the time of three months in 2018.
South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in said in October 2018 that Xi was expected to visit Pyongyang “soon”.
Chinese state news agency Xinhua did not mention Kim’s offer of inviting President Xi to Pyongyang but stated that it supports North Korea’s effort to denuclearise and become a closer ally with the USA.
“China supports the DPRK’s continued adherence to the direction of denuclearisation on the peninsula, supports the continuous improvement of inter-Korean relations,” said Xi using the acronym for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“[China also] supports the DPRK and the United States holding summits and achieving results, and supports relevant parties resolving their respective legitimate concerns through dialogue. China hopes that the DPRK and the United States will meet each other halfway.”
Kim has left China for North Korea today by train.
