Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang on Monday for a rare state visit that experts say is likely meant to reassert China’s unique influence over North Korea in return for providing economic and political benefits, AP reports.
During a two-day trip, his first visit to North Korea in seven years, Xi is to meet leader Kim Jong Un. It will be their first summit since September, when they met in Beijing after viewing a military parade alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders.
China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported that Xi had arrived in Pyongyang, after earlier reporting that Xi’s entourage includes his wife Peng Liyuan, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and top Communist Party official Cai Qi.
No specific agenda has been mentioned. Foreign experts predict the meeting will have big ramifications on bilateral ties and beyond, as they both seek to fully restore their traditional alliance in the face of separate confrontations with the U.S.
“A Chinese leader doesn’t just visit North Korea because a visit is due. Xi’s trip will have real implications for China-DPRK relations,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, using the abbreviation for North Korea’s full name.
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