SEOUL, South Korea — Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un underscored their commitment to deepen cooperation in a closely watched summit on Monday, as Mr. Xi made a rare visit to Pyongyang in a likely attempt to reassert Beijing’s unique influence over its socialist neighbor.
It’s Mr. Xi’s first visit to North Korea in seven years. Earlier Monday, he was given a lavish welcome upon arrival at Pyongyang’s international airport. He and his wife Peng Liyuan were greeted by Mr. Kim and his wife Ri Sol Ju, who broadly smiled and clapped.
Mr. Xi later arrived at Pyongyang’s main square, where a military honor guard and thousands of people, including children carrying balloons and hopping, staged a welcoming ceremony. Buildings surrounding the plaza were draped in the two countries’ flags, giant portraits of Mr. Kim and Mr. Xi and red-and-yellow banners welcoming the Chinese leader and celebrating the nations’ “friendship and unity.”
In a summit later Monday, Mr. Xi expressed China’s willingness to expand cooperation in a wide range of areas including trade, agriculture, construction and technology, China’s state broadcaster CCTV said in an online report.
He said the two countries should strengthen strategic cooperation and firmly safeguard their respective sovereignty and security interests, according to the report.
Mr. Kim said Mr. Xi’s visit “clearly demonstrates how unbreakable” the North Korean-China relationship is, CCTV said. It cited Kim as saying that consolidating a new era of friendship between the two countries is the “unchanging strategic choice” of North Korea.
PHOTOS: Chinese leader Xi heads to North Korea for closely watched talks with Kim
Full details of the meeting weren’t available. But foreign experts earlier predicted the meeting would have big ramifications on bilateral ties and beyond, as they both seek to fully restore their traditional alliance in the face of separate confrontations with the U.S.
The two leaders last met in Beijing in September, after viewing a military parade alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders.
Mr. Xi’s trip comes after his back-to-back summits with U.S. President Trump and Mr. Putin in Beijing last month. Mr. Xi is expected to meet Mr. Trump again on a planned U.S. visit in September.
Mr. Xi will try to demonstrate China’s “sway over the Korean Peninsula” and “a leadership role in entire Northeast Asia in the age of strategic competition with the U.S.,” said Kwak Gil Sup, the head of One Korea Center, a website specializing in North Korea affairs.
China has long been North Korea’s economic lifeline and main diplomatic backer. Experts say China has avoided fully enforcing U.N. sanctions on North Korea and sent clandestine aid to help its impoverished neighbor stay afloat. This year marks 65 years since the two countries signed a mutual defense treaty.
But there have been questions about their ties in recent years, with North Korea prioritizing cooperation with Russia by supplying troops and weapons to support its war against Ukraine. In return, North Korea has received economic and military assistance from Russia.
Restoring an exclusive influence over North Korea would give Mr. Xi a leverage in dealings with Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his desire to restart diplomacy with Mr. Kim, experts say.
“Implementing U.N. Security Council resolutions and enforcing sanctions do not appear to be priorities for China,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
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