North Korean leader is in Beijing, where he attended Victory Day Parade
China’s President Xi Jinping will host North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Beijing for a bilateral summit, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
Xi and Kim “will hold talks to exchange in-depth views on China-North Korea relations and issues of common concern,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in the capital.
It would mark their six such bilateral summit since 2018.Guo did not give a time or date for the summit.However, he added: "China is willing to work with North Korea to strengthen strategic communication, enhance exchanges and cooperation, deepen the sharing of governance experiences, and advance the development of their respective socialist causes and the traditional friendly cooperative relations between China and North Korea."
Kim is in Beijing – his fifth trip to China – where he attended China’s Victory Day parade on Wednesday alongside Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and 26 foreign leaders.
Kim, 41, traveled to Beijing using his special armored train, accompanied by Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, along with other senior officials. He reached Beining on Tuesday afternoon, some 20 hours after he left Pyongyang on Monday afternoon.
He is also accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae, in her first overseas trip with the North Korean leader.
Xi and Kim held their first five summits in the space of just two years, 2018 and 2019.
Later years disrupted cross-border travels due to COVID-19.
China is an essential economic partner of North Korea, whose economy saw its largest expansion in eight years in 2024.
North Korea’s gross domestic product is estimated to have grown by 3.7% on an annual basis in 2024, following 3.1% on-year growth in 2023, South Korea’s Central Bank said last month.
It added that the growth was led by increased exports and advances in the construction and manufacturing industries.
