Xi Jinping and North Korea's Kim Jong Un hold bilateral talks in Beijing

Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met on Thursday in Beijing, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV.

The talks were set to cover bilateral relations and matters of mutual interest, described as “of significant importance,” the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters during a routine briefing earlier in the day.

“China is ready to strengthen strategic communication and expand exchanges and cooperation with the DPRK, share governance experience, and advance our respective socialist causes as well as the traditional friendly and cooperative ties between China and the DPRK,” Guo added.

The meeting followed a military parade in Beijing on Wednesday, which Kim attended alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both leaders were seen walking and conversing with Xi during the event, which Beijing used to project military strength.

Kim arrived in Beijing on his signature green armoured train on Tuesday, accompanied by his teenage daughter, who made her first public appearance abroad.

The North Korean leader had met Putin on Wednesday, pledging “full support” for Russia’s armed forces as a “fraternal duty.”

China, a formal treaty ally of North Korea, remains the isolated nation’s largest trading partner by far.

North Korea has been subject to United Nations Security Council sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

Kim last visited China in January 2019.

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