Secret Visit Between North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and China’s Xi Jinping

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a visit by train to China this week, his first known trip outside North Korea since he took power in 2011.

At the invitation of #XiJinping, Kim Jong Un paid an unofficial visit to #China from March 25 to 28 pic.twitter.com/gKElTcW22V

— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) March 28, 2018

The China visit is believed to serve as preparation for a series of upcoming abroad visits this year, followed by a summit next month with South Korea and an eventual meeting with President Trump.

For the past six years, the relationship between China and North Korean has been souring after Pyongyang’s relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons and China’s response to U.N sanctions.

Man analysts consider North Korea’s action this time a fundamental shift in the course of Pyongyang’s ties with China. The commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula added another layer of determination and complexity in Kim’s evolving strategy toward global diplomacy.

“It is our consistent stand to be committed to denuclearization on the peninsula, in accordance with the will of late President Kim Il Sung and late General Secretary Kim Jong Il,” Kim Jong Un said, according to Reuters.

“The issue of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula can be resolved, if South and the United States respond to our efforts with goodwill, create an atmosphere of peace and stability while taking progressive and synchronous measures for the realization of peace”.

White House was informed about the visit on Tuesday, then said in a statement:

“The United States remains in close contact with our allies South Korea and Japan. We see this development as further evidence that our campaign of maximum pressure is creating the appropriate atmosphere for dialogue with North Korea”.

Since the very end of November 2017, Trump has declared clearly that “we will take care of that” intercontinental ballistic missile which is capable of striking the US mainland.

The US has pushed United Nations to sanction North Korea as well as simultaneously forcing China to employ some strategies on Pyongyang’s fuel import.

Many experts are waiting to see Kim’s next step in the relationship with the United States, especially if a face-to-face encounter will help ease tensions after the a war of words between the nation’s leaders.