Chinese President Xi Jinping says North Korea is taking the 'right direction' on issues ahead of his visit to Pyongyang to meet with Kim Jong Un.
FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2019, file photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi said North Korea is taking the "right direction" by politically resolving issues on the Korean Peninsula in a rare op-ed published by a North Korean state newspaper Wednesday, June 19, 2019, a day before Xi visits Pyongyang to meet Kim.
Much of the article focused on lauding the neighbors’ seven-decade relationship. Xi said his visit on Thursday and Friday will “strengthen strategic communication and exchange” between the traditional, though sometimes strained, allies. The nations fought together in the 1950-53 Korean War against the United States, South Korea and their allies, but there has been friction in recent years, especially over the North’s relentless push for nuclear bombs.
Lee Sang-min, spokesman for Seoul’s Unification Ministry, said the Rodong Sinmun op-ed wasn’t the first a Chinese leader wrote in North Korean state media. The ministry didn’t immediately provide other examples. Chinese state media has published essays from Xi ahead of other state visits. Kim met Xi four times in China last year during a diplomatic outreach that also included meetings with Trump, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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