Chinese president Xi Jinping to make state visit to North Korea
President Xi will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday and Friday to discuss the north's nuclear programme.
Monday 17 June 2019 16:45, UK
Xi Jinping will arrive in North Korea on Thursday for the first state visit a Chinese president has made to the country for 14 years.
President Xi will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the two-day visit, with Pyongyang's nuclear programme likely to be top of the agenda.
The trip coincides with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and North Korea.
A summit in Vietnam in February between Kim and Donald Trump broke down after the US rejected North Korea's request for extensive relief from UN sanctions in exchange for dismantling its main nuclear complex - a partial disarmament step.
Since the summit, no major contact between the US and North Korea has been announced.
Kim travelled to Russia in April for a meeting with Vladimir Putin.
The move was seen as being aimed at strengthening his leverage over Washington and persuading Moscow to loosen its sanctions against North Korea.
In May, North Korea fired short-range missiles and other weapons into the sea in an apparent effort to apply pressure on the US.
It was reported in April that Kim said he will give the US "till the end of the year" to come up with further proposals.
Since taking office in 2012, President Xi has met Kim four times in China and the meetings were timed in proximity to Kim's meetings with Mr Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, highlighting Beijing's role as a key player in the nuclear standoff.
Chinese political scholar Zhang Lifan said the aim of President Xi's trip is unlikely to make any breakthroughs but will serve to remind the world of China's unique position.
Mr Lifan said Beijing may be seeking to gain leverage ahead of a G20 summit in Japan later this month and reassert itself as a global player amid growing concerns over its economy.
He added: "North Korea is a card for China to play. China may want to show off its relationship with North Korea and demonstrate its importance to US-North Korean relations."
South Korea's presidential office said it hopes President Xi's visit to North Korea will contribute to a swift resumption of negotiations to resolve the nuclear standoff.