Progress on the Kim-Trump talks or a new card for China to play? Five things to look out for when Xi Jinping visits North Korea
- The Chinese President’s trip to Pyongyang could help get peace talks back on track, but the closeness to his meeting with Donald Trump may also give him leverage in the trade talks
- Pomp and ceremony surrounding state visit will also highlight the historic importance of the relationship between the two countries
Xi Jinping will make his first state visit to North Korea this week, shoring up ties with the reclusive regime at a time when denuclearisation talks have stalled.
The Chinese President’s two-day visit to Pyongyang – the first such trip in 14 years – comes a week before his high-stakes meeting with Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan.
China’s foreign ministry said Xi’s visit will touch on North Korean domestic development and peace on the Korean peninsula, where there has been little progress since the Hanoi summit between Trump and Kim Jong-un ended without agreement in February.
It will also be the first time a visit by one of the top Chinese leaders has been given the status of a “state visit”, symbolising the importance attached to the occasion.
Here are key issues to watch out for.
Denuclearisation: will they or won’t they?
On Wednesday, North Korean state newspaper Rodong Sinmun published a rare front-page commentary by Xi in which he urged the regime to keep travelling in the “correct direction” towards resolving problems on the Korean peninsula.