Xi and Kim Pledge Deeper Ties in Rare Pyongyang Summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Pyongyang on Monday for a closely watched summit, underscoring their commitment to deepen cooperation as Xi made a rare visit to the North Korean capital. It was Xi's first trip to North Korea in seven years, aimed at reasserting Beijing's influence over its socialist neighbor amid shifting regional dynamics.

Upon arrival at Pyongyang's international airport, Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were greeted by Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, who smiled and clapped. Later, at the city's main square, a military honor guard and thousands of people, including children carrying balloons, staged a welcoming ceremony.

Buildings around the plaza were draped in flags of both countries, giant portraits of Kim and Xi, and banners celebrating "friendship and unity."

During the summit, Xi expressed China's willingness to expand cooperation in trade, agriculture, construction, and technology, according to China's state broadcaster CCTV. He emphasized the need to strengthen strategic cooperation and safeguard sovereignty and security interests.

Kim responded that Xi's visit "clearly demonstrates how unbreakable" the North Korea-China relationship is, calling the consolidation of a new era of friendship the "unchanging strategic choice" of North Korea.

Foreign experts predicted the meeting would have significant ramifications for bilateral ties and beyond, as both nations seek to restore their traditional alliance amid separate confrontations with the United States. Xi's trip followed back-to-back summits with U.S.

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing last month. Xi is expected to meet Trump again during a planned U.S.

visit in September.

Analysts say Xi aims to demonstrate China's sway over the Korean Peninsula and a leadership role in Northeast Asia in the age of strategic competition with the U.S. China has long been North Korea's economic lifeline and main diplomatic backer, though ties have been tested by North Korea's growing cooperation with Russia, including supplying troops and weapons for the war in Ukraine.

In return, North Korea has received economic and military assistance from Moscow.

Restoring exclusive influence over North Korea could give Xi leverage in dealings with Trump, who has expressed a desire to restart diplomacy with Kim. "Implementing U.N.

Security Council resolutions and enforcing sanctions do not appear to be priorities for China," said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

Trade between China and North Korea last year recovered to pre-pandemic levels, and direct flights and passenger trains resumed earlier this year. Xi said both nations should use the reopening of services to expand people-to-people exchanges.

Kim needs Xi's support for his push to be recognized as a nuclear state. Analysts expect Xi to offer economic aid packages, including shipments of rice and fertilizers, resumption of Chinese group tourism, and joint economic projects.

Xi may also refrain from pressing Kim on denuclearization, instead speaking vaguely about peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. This would be essential for Kim, who seeks international recognition as a nuclear weapons state to call for lifting U.N.

sanctions.

"Chinese officials have taken the position of not speaking publicly about denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula while still maintaining it as a long-term goal. Kim appears to want Xi to accept North Korea as a nuclear neighbor," Easley said.

On Sunday, Kim's sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, dismissed the U.S. push for denuclearization as an "anachronistic dream." Last week, Kim unveiled a new plant to produce nuclear ingredients and vowed to bolster the country's nuclear forces "at an exponential rate." He also observed sea trials of a new naval destroyer and called for speeding up efforts to build a nuclear-armed navy.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung told reporters Monday that North Korea is producing enough nuclear ingredients annually for about 10-20 bombs and is close to perfecting intercontinental ballistic missile technology. Lee said the world must first focus on convincing North Korea to freeze its nuclear materials production and ICBM program as a short-term goal.

Kim Jong Un has focused on enlarging and modernizing his nuclear arsenal since his high-stakes diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019. The North Korean leader said in September that he still had "good personal memories" of Trump but urged the U.S.

to withdraw its demand for denuclearization as a precondition for resuming diplomacy.