N. Korea to greet Xi in 'unprecedented manner'
Tourists walk on the Broken Bridge over the Yalu River that divides North Korea and China in Dandong, Liaoning Province, on Aug. 12. / Reuters-Yonhap
By Yi Whan-woo
North Koreans are expected to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping in an “unprecedented manner” when he joins Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang to celebrate the 70th founding anniversary of the North’ s regime on Sept. 9, according to analysts.
If confirmed, the visit will be the first by the highest-ranking Chinese official since Hu Jintao’s 2005 trip.
Such an historic visit fuels optimism that Pyongyang-Beijing ties will reach a peak, economic cooperation will prosper and living conditions in the North will improve significantly, the experts said.
“North Korea has not announced Xi’s trip yet, but once it does, the public will be excited about its possible impact on economy,” said An Chan-il, a defector who heads the World Institute for North Korea Studies in Seoul.
“Xi’s visit means the blood alliance will be fully restored and it will raise hope for China’s active role in convincing the United States to declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War.”
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, echoed this view.
“The North Koreans will strongly welcome Xi’s visit, considering that Pyongyang’s economy has been seriously crippled by the U.N. Security Council’s sanctions,” he said.
“Xi’s presence in Pyongyang will be perceived as the end of the economic struggle and suggest a vision for an improvement in living standards.”
He said Xi’s trip would also be welcomed because it would be seen as a sign of pressure on the U.S. to declare an end to the Korean War, as the Kim regime had repeatedly demanded.
Singapore’s The Straits Times reported on Aug. 18 that Xi might visit North Korea. Kim has visited China three times this year alone amid Pyongyang’s reconciliatory mood with Seoul and Washington.
Two of the three meetings were held in March and May in the lead-up to the landmark summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore in June. The third came after the Singapore summit, with Kim briefing Xi about the outcome.
Xi previously visited Pyongyang in 2008, when he was China’s vice president — his first foreign trip after he became heir apparent. The following year, then Premier Wen Jiabao also visited the North.
The relationship between Beijing and Pyongyang worsened after Kim took power in late 2011 following the death of his father Kim Jong-il and he went ahead with nuclear and ballistic missile programs despite China’s opposition.
As a result, no senior Chinese leader has made the trip in recent years, except for Liu Yunshan, who was ranked No. 5 in the Communist Party hierarchy.
In 2015, he attended anniversary celebrations of the founding of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party.