China's Xi Jinping departs for state visit to North Korea

BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping departed for Pyongyang for his state visit to North Korea on Thursday , Chinese state media reported.

Mr Xi flew to North Korea on Thursday with his wife Peng Liyuan, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other officials, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Though Beijing has emphasised the trip is to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and North Korea and to look at ways for the close neighbours to deepen ties, the surprise visit comes less than a fortnight before Mr Xi's planned meeting with United States President Donald Trump at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka.

In a rare opinion piece published in North Korea’s official newspaper on Wednesday, Mr Xi hailed the"irreplaceable" friendship of the neighbouring nations and offered a"grand plan" to bring permanent stability to East Asia. Mr Xi will pay homage at the capital’s Friendship Tower, a monument to the Chinese troops who saved the North from defeat during the Korean War.Prof Yongwook Ryu, an international relations expert at the National University of Singapore, said Mr Xi could be making a"serious mistake" if he tries to use North Korea as a bargaining chip with Mr Trump, because the US leader separates security issues from economic ones.

In total disregard of geopolitics - Instead of negotiating with China on the denuclearization of NorthKorea, Trump had given legitimacy to KimJungUn in meeting one on one with him twice, June 12, 2018 in Singapore & Feb. 5, 2019 in Hanoi. NYTimes

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