Xi to visit North Korea in push for deeper ties

BEIJING, Jun 5: China said on Friday President Xi Jinping would visit North Korea on a two-day trip from June 8, his first in nearly seven years as Beijing looks to reassert ties with Pyongyang, its only formal treaty ally.

Xi will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern, China's foreign ministry said.

"Both sides will use the visit as an opportunity to promote greater development of China-North Korea relations in keeping with the times," spokesperson Mao Ning told a press briefing.

Beijing has worked to draw Pyongyang back into its fold after the COVID-19 pandemic froze exchanges and Kim deepened ties with Moscow by sending troops and weapons to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The two countries signed a ?cooperation and mutual assistance treaty 65 years ago, legally binding each to provide the other with military support if they came under attack.

"The message implicit from the Chinese side is ... we are still the principal actor when it comes to North Korea," said John Delury, a senior fellow of the Asia Society. "One of the audiences is Russia."

Friday's announcement by the international department of the ruling Chinese Communist Party follows Xi's summits in Beijing last month with US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kim was a guest at a massive military parade in Beijing last September, travelling to the Chinese capital on his signature green armoured train.    �"REUTERS