Kim Jong-un visited Dandong just 10 days ago

Visit seen as sign of accelerating North Korea-China ties

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. [Yonhap]
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. [Yonhap]

Kim Song-nam, international affairs secretary of the Korean Workers' Party, departed Pyongyang for China, Japan's Kyodo News reported Tuesday.

According to Yonhap, Kyodo said Kim left Pyongyang leading a Workers' Party delegation and was believed to have already arrived in Beijing.

Kyodo said the visit appeared aimed at strengthening ties with the Chinese Communist Party.

Analysts also raised the possibility that the two sides could exchange views on the outcomes and policy directions of the recently concluded fifth plenary session of the 20th Chinese Communist Party Central Committee.

The Chinese Communist Party held the session in Beijing from Oct. 26 to 29, adopting key resolutions to advance the comprehensive and strict governance of the party while reaffirming its commitment to strengthening internal discipline, tightening organizational control and rooting out corruption — all in service of consolidating the authority and leadership of the party's central committee with Xi Jinping at its core.

The session was widely interpreted as an effort to shore up internal cohesion and the governing foundation ahead of the 21st Party Congress, which will in effect determine whether Xi secures a fourth consecutive term next year.

Kim's visit comes just 10 days after Kim Jong-un made a surprise trip to Dandong, China, on Oct. 24 — a sequence analysts say reflects a broader trend of deepening high-level exchanges and strengthening friendly relations between the two countries.

During that visit, Kim Jong-un met Wang Huning, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the fourth-ranked figure in China's leadership hierarchy, and toured the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea Memorial Hall and a local bus factory in Dandong, signaling the importance both sides place on political and economic cooperation.

Kim Song-nam visited China in March 2024 and met Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party and foreign minister. Kim was also confirmed to have accompanied Kim Jong-un on the recent Dandong trip and on Kim Jong-un's attendance at a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War last September.


20ki@heraldcorp.com