Dictator comes in from the cold
NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong-un was treated to a lavish welcome by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a secretive trip to Beijing as both sides seek to salvage frayed ties ahead of landmark summits with Seoul and Washington.
On his first trip abroad since taking power in 2011, Mr Kim and his wife Ri Sol Ju were met with honour guards and a banquet hosted by Mr Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan according to state media, which confirmed the visit yesterday only after Mr Kim had returned to North Korea.
The two men held talks at the imposing Great Hall of the People during which they hailed their nations’ historic relations, with Mr Kim pledging that he was “committed to the denuclearisation” of the Korean peninsula, China’s Xinhua news agency said.
“It’s most proper that my first overseas trip would be the capital of the People’s Republic of China as it’s also one of my noble duties to value the North Korea-China friendship as I do my own life and extend it (for another generation),” said Mr Kim, according to the agency.
Analysts said Mr Xi would have wanted to see Mr Kim to ensure North Korea does not cut a deal with US President Donald Trump that hurts Chinese interests during a summit expected to be held in May.
It is widely believed North Korea is desperate to break out of isolation and improve its economy after being squeezed by heavy sanctions. China remains North Korea’s only major ally and chief provider of energy, aid and trade that keep the country’s broken economy afloat.
The meeting with Mr Xi marks Mr Kim’s first meeting with a foreign head of state. Mr Kim’s father, late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, visited China several times during his rule, lastly in May 2011, months before his death that December.
Kim Jong Il was renowned for his fear of flying, limiting his foreign trips to overland journeys to China and Russia by armoured train – the same mode of transport used by Mr Kim to reach Beijing this week.
The North’s diplomatic outreach this year follows a tenser 2017 when it conducted its most powerful nuclear test to date and tested three intercontinental ballistic missiles.