▲ Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un prior to their summit talks in Pyongyang on June 20, 2019, in this image captured from footage of China's CCTV. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Xi-NK visit

Xi set to arrive in N. Korea on first visit in 7 years

SEOUL, June 8 (Yonhap) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping was set to arrive in North Korea on Monday for a two-day state visit, his first trip to Pyongyang in nearly seven years, as Beijing looks to reinforce ties with its traditional ally that has increasingly been growing intimate with Russia.

Xi is expected to land at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may greet him, as he did during Xi's last visit in 2019.

The two leaders will then ride through streets that will likely be lined with welcoming crowds before attending a ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square.

Talks could follow later in the day and are widely expected to cover economic ties and Korean Peninsula issues, as well as ways to coordinate among Pyongyang, Beijing and Moscow.

Xi last traveled to Pyongyang on June 20-21, 2019, his first state visit to Pyongyang since taking office in late 2012.

The two leaders most recently met in September, when Kim traveled to Beijing for China's Victory Day celebrations, standing alongside Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a military parade.

Kim has made five trips to Beijing to meet Xi since coming to power after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in December 2011.

Xi's upcoming North Korea trip carries symbolic weight. This year marks the 65th anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between Pyongyang and Beijing, giving both sides added reasons to reaffirm their alliance and deepen economic ties.

The occasion also comes amid growing ties between Pyongyang and Moscow. Last month, North Korean troops marched for the first time alongside Russian forces in Moscow's Victory Day parade, which commemorates the Soviet Union's victory over Germany in World War II.

Pyongyang, meanwhile, has made no effort to soften its military posture ahead of Xi's arrival.

On Sunday, Kim's sister Kim Yo-Jong declared the country's nuclear status absolutely irreversible, calling it a "line of no retreat."

Last week, the North Korean leader inspected what Pyongyang described as a newly launched nuclear materials production facility, vowing to exponentially expand the country's arsenal. Kim also watched a naval destroyer's navigation test and called for strengthening the country's nuclear deterrent.

For Beijing, the visit could serve as a chance to reaffirm its influence over the Korean Peninsula. It follows Xi's separate summits with U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin in Beijing last month, and his attendance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea in October.

Against this backdrop, Xi is expected to arrive in Pyongyang with a clearer picture of where the major powers stand on Korean Peninsula affairs, offering a potential opening to restart the stalled diplomacy among Pyongyang, Washington and Seoul.

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