DPRK leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Beijing for a four-day visit at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, January 8, Korean and Chinese state-run media reported. Kim’s arrival in the Chinese capital coincided with his 36th birthday.
Official Chinese news agency Xinhua confirmed that Kim arrived in Beijing accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju with a short bulletin on Tuesday, after reports from South Korean news agency Yonhap first signaled that a North Korean train had crossed the border with China, passing through the Chinese city of Dandong on January 7.
Kim Jong-un’s convoy traveling through Beijing. Screengrab via CGTN
State media have yet to release images of the meeting between the two leaders but have confirmed that Kim will stay in China through Thursday, January 10.
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Li Nan, associate research fellow at the Institute of American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told Chinese broadcaster CGTN that the visit might be “closely related to” a future meeting between Kim and US President Donald Trump. Indeed, the Korean leader visited China three times in 2018, all before or shortly after his two historic meetings with Trump and with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
DPRK leader Kim Jong-un and President Moon Jae-in of South Korean. Image via Wikimedia
The visit follows President Trump’s statement to American media on January 6 that “a good dialogue” was underway between the US and the DPRK and that the two countries were negotiating the location of a second summit, following the historic conference that took place last June in Singapore – the first meeting between leaders of the two countries.
Kim’s televised New Year’s message confirmed the DPRK’s commitment to denuclearization, but binding it to the suspension of US-led sanctions against the country. On January 1, Trump also expressed his will to meet again with the North Korean leader.
Stay tuned for more on Kim’s ongoing visit to China.
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[Cover image: screengrab via CGTN]
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