Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in North Korea for a two-day visit. He praised the “invincible” friendship between Beijing and Pyongyang.
Journalist at HLN
Source: Belga
The plane carrying the Chinese president landed in North Korea around noon, according to a video from the state news agency Xinhua. “We warmly welcome Comrade Xi Jinping. Long live the friendship and solidarity between the Chinese and North Korean people!” read a banner hung at the airport.
It is the first visit by a Chinese head of state to North Korea since 2019. It comes less than a month after visits by US and Russian Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to Beijing.
Wife present
Experts expect Xi will try to emphasize the prominent role of Sino-North Korean ties during his talks with Kim Jong Un. Xi is accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his indispensable right-hand man Cai Qi.
China is a vital diplomatic, economic and political supporter for North Korea. “No matter how times change or how the international situation develops, the traditional friendship between China and North Korea remains invincible,” Xi Jinping said on the front page of the ‘Rodong Sinmun’. That is the newspaper of the ruling North Korean party.