Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un pledge to boost China-North Korea ties

Xi and Kim, along with top officials from their countries, met at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, a day after Kim attended a Chinese military parade alongside other foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kim is making a rare trip outside North Korea.

Kim pledges support to China

During their bilateral talks on Thursday (September 4), the North Korean leader assured the Chinese president that his country will lend support to China in protecting its sovereignty, territory and development interests, Reuters said quoting North Korean state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday (September 5).

Also read: Trump backtracks, calls ties with China, Russia, North Korea ‘very good’

“No matter how the international situation changes, the feeling of friendship cannot change,” Kim reportedly told Xi.

Xi highlighted the “traditional friendship” between China and North Korea and pledged to consolidate and boost relations, according to a readout of their statements published by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Thursday.

“This position will not change regardless of how the international situation evolves,” Xi told Kim, according to CCTV.

Boost in strategic cooperation

North Korea's KCNA on Friday said that the leaders discussed increasing high-level visits and contacts as well as strengthening strategic cooperation and protecting shared interests in international and regional affairs.

Also read: Trump accuses China of conspiring against US with Russia, North Korea

It said Kim left Beijing by his private train on Thursday evening after his meeting with Xi.

China has been North Korea's biggest trading partner and aid provider, though questions have lingered about the strength of their bilateral relationship.

North Korea’s role in Ukraine war

In recent years, Kim's foreign policy has focused heavily on Russia. He has sent combat troops and ammunition to back Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in return for economic and military assistance.

At a meeting with Kim in Beijing after the parade, Putin praised the bravery of North Korean soldiers in the fighting.

Also read: Putin praises N Korean soldiers as he meets Kim in Beijing for talks

But experts say that Kim would feel the need to prepare for the possible end of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Kim, on his first visit to China in six years, brought his young daughter, adding to speculation that she's being primed as the country's next leader.

Significance of Kim’s visit

On Wednesday, he joined 26 foreign leaders who watched the parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

It was the first time that Kim joined an event with a large group of world leaders since taking office in late 2011.

North Korea's economy has been suffering under heavy US sanctions tied to Pyongyang's development of nuclear weapons.

Some observers say Kim's trip could also be meant to increase leverage in potential talks with US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his hopes to resume diplomacy between the two countries.

China is believed to want its neighbour to return to negotiation and give up its nuclear weapons development.

Joint pushback against US?

North Korea's more recent closer ties with Russia have raised some concern in Beijing, which has long been Pyongyang's most important ally.

The joint appearance of Kim, Xi and Putin at the parade sparked speculation about a joint effort to push back at US pressure on their three countries.

Trump said as much in a social media post, telling Xi to give his warmest regards to Putin and Kim “as you conspire against The United States of America".

Also read: Putin shrugs off 'conspiracy' claim, says Trump 'not without sense of humour'

Putin dismissed that idea at a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday, saying no one has expressed anything negative about the Trump administration during his trip to China.

“The President of the United States is not without a sense of humour,” he said.

No three-way alliance so far

Although China, North Korea and Russia are embroiled in separate confrontations with the US, they haven't formed a clear three-way alliance so far.

Zhu Feng, the dean of Nanjing University's School of International Relations, said that “ganging up” with North Korea would damage China's image, because the former is the most closed and authoritarian country in the world.

“It should not be overinterpreted that China-North Korea-Russia relations would see reinforcement,” he said.

(With inputs from agencies)