Xi Jinping Visits North Korea for First Time in 7 Years, Accompanied by Peng Liyuan and Cai Qi

TAIPEI (Central News Agency) August 8 -- According to Chinese state media Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping has departed Beijing for a state visit to North Korea. This is Xi's first visit to North Korea in seven years. He is accompanied by his wife, Peng Liyuan, and Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CCP Central Committee.

According to Xinhua, the delegation also includes Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Yonhap News Agency reports that China and North Korea have not disclosed the specific itinerary or locations for Xi's visit. However, the visit is scheduled for only two days, and the leaders of China and North Korea are likely to hold talks on the afternoon of August 8.

The report indicates that the two sides are expected to exchange views on the development of China-North Korea relations, economic cooperation, and the situation in Northeast Asia, including the Korean Peninsula. Amidst intensifying strategic competition with the United States, plans to strengthen cooperation among China, Russia, and North Korea may also be on the agenda.

Xi is expected to pay respects at the Sino-Korean Friendship Tower on August 9 and have lunch with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un before departing for China. Xi's trip may also include a visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of former North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are enshrined.

Xi previously visited North Korea in 2019. His last meeting with Kim Jong Un was in September of last year, when Kim attended a military parade in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. (Editor: Lu Jiarong / Chen Kaiyu)