North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was treated to a lavish welcome by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a secretive trip to Beijing this week, as both sides seek to repair frayed ties ahead of landmark summits with Seoul and Washington.
On his first trip abroad since taking power, Kim and his wife were met on Monday with honor guards and a banquet hosted by Xi, according to state media, which yesterday confirmed the “unofficial” visit only after Kim had returned to North Korea.
The two men held talks at the Great Hall of the People during which they hailed their nations’ historic relations, with Kim pledging that he was “committed to denuclearization” on the Korean Peninsula, according to Xinhua news agency.
Photo: AP / Korean Central News Agency VIA Korea News Service
“There is no question that my first foreign visit would be to the Chinese capital,” Kim said, according to the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
“This is my solemn duty as someone who should value and continue the DPRK-PRC relations through generations,” Kim said, referring to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the People’s Republic of China.
KCNA said Xi accepted an invitation to visit Pyongyang, which would be his first trip to the North Korean capital since he took power in 2012.
The two men had not met since Kim took over after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in 2011, and relations have been strained as China has backed a raft of UN sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile tests.
However, Xi underscored the importance of developing ties, saying it was “a strategic choice and the only right choice” and that he was willing to maintain frequent contact with the North Korean leader “under the new circumstances”, according to Xinhua.
Xi and Kim Jong-un shook hands and sat across from each other at a long table, both flanked by officials, at the Great Hall of the People, according to television images which showed the North Korean leader taking meticulous notes.
Later, Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan (彭麗媛), waved goodbye, while Kim Jong-un and his spouse, Ri Sol-ju, smiled as they left in a black car.
Chinese and North Korean state media said the visit started on Sunday and ended yesterday, but that apparently included travel time from Pyongyang to Beijing and back.
Analysts said Xi likely wanted to see Kim Jong-un to ensure North Korea does not cut a deal with US President Donald Trump that hurts Chinese interests during a summit expected to be held in May.
Beijing had appeared sidelined by Pyongyang’s approaches to Seoul and Washington, but Kim Jong-un’s visit puts China firmly back at the center of the diplomatic game.
“It shows that at this crucial juncture, Kim and Xi believed that it was time to seize the opportunity to consult,” said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“Both likely concluded that further deterioration in relations would be harmful,” Glaser said.
Deng Yuwen (鄧聿文), an international relations researcher, said North Korea needed to turn to its old ally ahead of the US summit, as Kim Jong-un would be skeptical that Trump would guarantee the security of his regime.
“North Korea needs the big brother to protect it at a crucial moment,” Deng said.
Xinhua said Kim Jong-un expressed his willingness to hold summits with Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
“The issue of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula can be resolved, if South Korea and the United States respond to our efforts with goodwill, create an atmosphere of peace and stability while taking progressive and synchronous measures for the realization of peace,” Kim Jong-un said, according to Xinhua.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Trump received a personal note from Xi on Tuesday about Kim’s visit.
“We see this development as further evidence that our campaign of maximum pressure is creating the appropriate atmosphere for dialogue with North Korea,” she said.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
RSS