North Korean media belatedly report Kim Jong Un's China visit; Kim Yo Jong accompanied him

[Financial News] North Korean media have belatedly begun reporting that Kim Jong Un visited Dandong, China, via the New Yalu River Bridge. Kim made a day trip to Dandong, Liaoning Province, on the 24th, but returned without meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping.
KCNA reported on the 25th that Kim had visited Dandong the previous day around the 76th anniversary of the Chinese People's Volunteers' participation in the Korean front and visited the Memorial Hall of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea.
The North Korean delegation included Kim Yo Jong, director of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) General Affairs Department; Jo Yong-won, secretary of the WPK Central Committee; Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui; secretaries Ri Il-hwan and Kim Song-nam; First Vice Premier Kim Tok-hun; and Kim Jae-ryong, first vice department director, along with other senior party and government officials, as well as Ri Ryong-nam, North Korea's ambassador to China. The report did not say whether Kim's eldest daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who has accompanied him to major events, was also there.
On the Chinese side, Wang Huning, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and fourth in the country's power hierarchy, welcomed him.
Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs and foreign minister; Liu Haixing, head of the Chinese Communist Party's International Liaison Department; Executive Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu; Liaoning Party Secretary Xu Kunlin; and Dandong Party Committee Secretary Zhang Bing were among the central and local officials who attended. Wang Yajun, China's ambassador to North Korea, was also there.
As the national anthems of both countries played, Kim laid a floral tribute at the Memorial Tower of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. The flower basket bore the inscription: “We will forever remember the martyrs of the Chinese People's Volunteers. Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and President of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.”
The Chinese military observes October 25—the date it scored its first victory in the Korean War—as a day commemorating the campaign to resist U.S. aggression and aid North Korea.
After paying his respects in front of the memorial tower, Kim said, “Our people will forever remember the glorious era in which we fought alongside the Chinese people,” and “We will pass down through the generations our eternal gratitude to the Chinese people, who helped our revolution with their blood.”
Accompanied by Chairman Wang, Kim viewed the archival materials on display at the Memorial Hall of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea.
Kim emphasized that “the Memorial Hall of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea is a precious testament in blood to the invincible DPRK-China (North Korea-China) friendship,” and “the will of our party and government, and our people, to forever remember and uphold the great history we forged through shared trials and to steadfastly carry forward the invincible DPRK-China friendship forged in blood.”
Kim also expressed his gratitude to President Xi Jinping, praising him by saying, “The high international standing and dignity enjoyed today by the People's Republic of China are the rightful result of the Chinese people striving and struggling under the wise leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core.”
Kim toured a bus factory in Dandong and encouraged the workers before leaving China via the New Yalu River Bridge. Chinese central and local officials, led by Chairman Wang, accompanied Kim's party to the midpoint of the bridge to see them off.
Looking out at the view from the midpoint of the bridge, Kim expressed his hope that “this bridge will undoubtedly and faithfully fulfill its historic mission of connecting the two countries and bringing our hearts even closer together.”
The New Yalu River Bridge, which Kim used, officially opened on the 15th of this month. The four-lane bridge, measuring 3,026 meters in total, connects Dandong, the largest trade hub between North Korea and China, with Sinuiju in North Pyongan Province. This is the first time Kim's on-site inspection has been reported.
Kim's visit to China came one year and one month after he traveled to Beijing in September last year to attend the event marking the 80th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, known as Victory Day. It was his sixth visit since taking power. This was the first time Kim had visited China and returned without meeting President Xi.
Kim's decision to visit Dandong in person on the occasion of a traditional North Korea-China commemorative day and emphasize their blood alliance is seen as an effort to reaffirm the two countries' traditional friendship.
Some analysts say that by traveling to and from China via the New Yalu River Bridge and touring a local factory, Kim signaled an intention to expand trade and economic cooperation between North Korea and China following the bridge's opening. In addition, as the visit took place ahead of next month's North Korea-U.S. summit, the prospects of a future meeting between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to grow even more remote. [email protected] Reporter Kim Kyung-soo

[email protected] Kim Kyung-soo Reporter