Wife Peng Liyuan, senior officials Cai Qi and Wang Yi accompany Chinese leader; Korean Peninsula situation expected on summit agenda

Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrive at a reception marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in September last year. [Reuters]
Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrive at a reception marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in September last year. [Reuters]

Chinese President Xi Jinping departed Beijing on Monday morning for a state visit to North Korea, his first trip to the country in seven years.

China Central Television (CCTV) reported that Xi, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, left aboard his official aircraft at the invitation of Kim Jong-un, general secretary of the Korean Workers' Party and chairman of the State Affairs Commission.

Accompanying Xi are his wife, Peng Liyuan; Cai Qi, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and director of the CCP Central Secretariat — effectively Xi's chief of staff, ranked fifth in the party hierarchy — and Wang Yi, director of the CCP Central Foreign Affairs Commission and concurrently foreign minister, CCTV said.

Xi's visit is his first to North Korea since 2019. It also marks the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders in nine months, since Kim traveled to Beijing in September last year to attend China's Victory Day commemorations.

Based on past practice at North Korea-China summits, Xi is expected to land at Pyongyang's Sunan Airport and be received by Kim. The two leaders are then expected to travel together to Kim Il-sung Square in central Pyongyang for an official welcoming ceremony before holding summit talks.

The talks are expected to cover the development of bilateral relations, expansion of economic cooperation and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

After the summit, the schedule is expected to include a welcoming banquet and attendance at a mass gymnastics and artistic performance.

The Kumsusan State Guesthouse, North Korea's premier facility for visiting heads of state, is expected to serve as Xi's accommodation. Xi stayed there as its first guest during his 2019 visit, and the guesthouse has more recently hosted the presidents of Russia and Belarus during their trips to Pyongyang.

On Tuesday, the second day of the visit, Xi is expected to pay his respects at the Friendship Tower in Pyongyang — a symbol of North Korea-China ties — before joining Kim for lunch and then departing for home. Built in 1959, the tower commemorates Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers who died fighting in the Korean War. Senior Chinese officials have made a point of laying wreaths there on every visit to Pyongyang, reaffirming the two countries' "blood alliance."

Xi may also visit the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il lie in state. A visit by China's top leader to the palace carries symbolic weight, signaling respect for the legitimacy of the North Korean system.


yckim6452@heraldcorp.com