North Korean leader Kim Jong Un welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping to Pyongyang on Monday, feeling in a position of strength with a firm ally in Russia, a nuclear arsenal and little apparent appetite to engage with Washington.
For Xi, leader of the world’s second-biggest economy, the two-day visit to China’s neighbour, his first in seven years, is part of an effort to draw Pyongyang back into its orbit.
Xi hosted Kim, among other leaders, at a massive military parade in Beijing last year, and the two countries have since resumed some passenger rail and air services. This week’s summit is likely to present a contrast to Xi’s first visit to the isolated state in 2019 – months after a meeting between Kim and US President Donald Trump fell apart over denuclearising North Korea and sanctions relief.