Xi, Kim hold talks ahead of Trump summit

VISIT HIGHLIGHTS EFFORTS BY THE COLD WAR-ERA ALLIES TO MEND TIES

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un met in north-east China yesterday in an unannounced visit by the North Korean leader ahead of an expected summit with US President Donald Trump.

Shortly after the meeting was made public, Trump tweeted that he would speak to his “friend” Xi about North Korea later yesterday.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV showed Xi and Kim taking a seaside stroll in the north-eastern city of Dalian and holding talks, while the official Xinhua News Agency said the two leaders met on Monday and yesterday.

It was Kim’s second visit to China since March, highlighting efforts by the Cold War-era allies to mend ties that have chilled as Beijing has supported UN sanctions over Pyongyang’s nuclear activities.

Beijing is keen to avoid being left out in the cold in the wake of Kim’s historic summit last month with South Korean President Moon Jaein and his expected meeting with Trump in June.

“After the first meeting between me and Comrade Chairman [Kim], both ChinaDPRK relations and the Korean peninsula situation have made positive progress. I feel happy about it,” Xi said.

For his part, Kim was quoted as saying: “These are the positive outcomes of the historic meeting between me and Comrade General Secretary [Xi].”

And Trump tweeted that “the primary topics” of his discussion with Xi “will be Trade, where good things will happen, and North Korea, where relationships and trust are building.”

Japanese media had earlier shown images of an aeroplane normally used by North Korean VIPs flying out of Dalian, fuelling speculation that Kim had been in town. Xi said he was willing to meet Kim again to make joint efforts to have a healthy bilateral relationship, achieve peace on the Korean peninsula and promote regional stability, Xinhua said.

Kim travelled to Beijing by train in March for his maiden official trip abroad and met Xi for the first time since taking power in 2011.