Kim Jong-un Makes Second Surprise Visit to China To Meet Xi Jinping
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian, according to the Chinese media.
Dalian: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian, according to the Chinese media. The summit was held in the port city of Dalian, barely weeks after the two leaders took part in historic talks in China's capital city Beijing in March. North Korean state media KCTV said Kim flew to Dalian on Monday on his private jet, where he was welcomed by high-profile Chinese officials including Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV showed Xi and Kim taking a seaside stroll in the north-eastern city of Dalian and holding talks, and the official Xinhua news agency said the two leaders met over two days for talks.
China backs Pyongyang's adherence to the denuclearization of the peninsula and advocates a dialogue between North Korea and the United States for resolving the peninsula issue, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported, citing Xi, as saying. Xi noted, "China is willing to continue to work with all relevant parties and play an active role in comprehensively advancing the process of peaceful resolution of the peninsula issue through dialogue and realizing long-term peace and stability in the region."
Kim and Xi discussed relations between their two countries as well as “major issues of common concern”, and Kim restated Pyongyang’s desire to relinquish its nuclear arsenal.
“It has been the DPRK’s consistent and clear stand to achieve denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula,” Kim said, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, according to paraphrased remarks reported by Xinhua. “As long as relevant parties abolish their hostile policies and remove security threats against the DPRK, there is no need for the DPRK to be a nuclear state and denuclearisation can be realised,” in an apparent reference to the U.S.
It is the second meeting between the two leaders in less than two months. Top-level officials from both North Korea and China attended the summit, including Kim's sister Kim Yo Jong and Wang Huning, a member of China's powerful seven-man Politburo Standing Committee, according to Chinese state media.
This week's meeting comes ahead of much anticipated talks between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump, which are expected to take place by late May or early June and after a historic summit in late April between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in during which the two leaders agreed to work towards the goal of “complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula”. (With Agency inputs)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 09, 2018 08:36 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).