Berliner Tageblatt - North Korea's Kim tells Xi hopes to 'steadily develop' ties: KCNA

The two men held talks Thursday evening at the Chinese capital's Great Hall of the People, where Kim affirmed the "friendly feelings" between the two countries, Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

Kim has been on a rare foreign visit to China, his most important ally, joining Russia's Vladimir Putin alongside Xi at a massive military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

"It is the steadfast will of the WPK (Workers' Party of Korea) and the government... to steadily develop the DPRK-China relations," Kim was quoted as saying by KCNA, using the acronym for North Korea.

He told Xi the relationship between China and North Korea "cannot change no matter how the international situation may change", KCNA said, echoing almost exactly Xi's comments to Kim as reported by Chinese state media.

China's relationship with North Korea was forged in the bloodshed of the Korean War in the 1950s, and Beijing is a vital source of diplomatic, economic and political support for the isolated nuclear state.

But Pyongyang has been moving closer to Russia recently -- the two countries signed a mutual defence agreement last year, and North Korean soldiers are fighting in the Ukraine war.

Pyongyang will "invariably support and encourage the stand and efforts" of China to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and development interests, Kim said Thursday.

Xi told Kim the two countries should strengthen coordination on international affairs and "safeguard their common interests", Chinese state media reported.

Kim arrived in Beijing on Tuesday accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae, his second reported trip abroad in six years and his first to China since 2019.

"Visiting China after six years, I was deeply struck by how China has transformed and developed beyond recognition," Kim said Thursday in a video provided by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

"What hasn't changed is the warm welcome... no matter how the world changes, the friendship between the peoples of North Korea and China remains constant."

In the video, Xi also reminisced about his own visit to North Korea in 2019, saying he had felt a "strong sense of kinship" everywhere he went.

Kim left Beijing by his private train on Thursday evening to go back to North Korea, KCNA said.

N.Fournier--BTB