(2nd LD) N.K. leader vows to advance ties with China during surprise Dandong visit

SEOUL, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited China and vowed to promote the two countries' longstanding relationship forged in blood, state media reported Sunday.

The report confirmed earlier accounts from South Korean government sources, who said Saturday that Kim visited the Chinese border city of Dandong, where he met with Wang Huning, China's fourth-highest-ranking official and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

According to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim visited Dandong on Saturday, accompanied by senior party and government officials, including Jo Yong-won, a member of the ruling Workers' Party's Presidium; Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui; and Kim Yo-jong, his sister and a party department director.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other senior Chinese officials were also present.

Saturday's visit marked Kim's first known trip to China since September 2025, when he traveled to Beijing to attend events marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and held talks with Chinese President Xi Jingping. It was his sixth visit to China since he took power in 2011.

Kim paid tribute at a war memorial to Chinese soldiers who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War, as China marked the 76th anniversary of its entry into the Korean War on Sunday.

"We will always remember the history when the excellent sons and daughters of the Chinese people helped our revolution at the cost of their blood and steadily and firmly carry forward the history of the DPRK-China friendship," Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA.

Kim also attended a banquet hosted by Wang at Xi's direction and visited a bus factory in Dandong.

Wang Huning, also a member of the Political Bureau Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, conveyed Xi's greetings to Kim and said the visit was significant for preserving and developing the countries' "traditional friendship and militant fraternity," the KCNA reported.

Wrapping up his one-day visit, Kim returned to North Korea via the newly opened New Amnok River Bridge, also known as the New Yalu River Bridge. The report did not specify whether he had used the bridge to enter China.

While viewing the surrounding area from the midpoint of the bridge, Kim expressed hope that it would "undoubtedly and correctly fulfill its historic mission of linking the two countries and firmly joining the minds of the peoples of the two countries."

The bridge, which links North Korea's border city of Sinuiju with China's Dandong, opened earlier this month, more than a decade after construction was completed in 2014.

The latest trip comes as Pyongyang seeks to strengthen ties with Beijing after the bilateral ties had remained cool, with North Korea deepening its alignment with Russia, including military cooperation amid Moscow's war against Ukraine.

China remains North Korea's most important economic partner and a key diplomatic ally. The two countries have stepped up high-level exchanges, including Xi's visit to Pyongyang in June 2026, when the two leaders pledged to expand cooperation in political, economic and other fields.

Kim's visit also comes ahead of a planned Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China next month, which U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to attend. Trump has expressed interest in resuming dialogue with Kim, though prospects for a meeting remain uncertain.

It remains unclear whether Kim's latest trip included any discussions on regional security or the possibility of renewed diplomacy with Washington.

Experts said given that Kim's recent trip did not involve a meeting with Xi, North Korea-U.S. dialogue is unlikely to be imminent. Kim previously traveled to China to meet Xi ahead of his summits with Trump.

But the North's leader appears to have tried to raise his leverage for possible negotiations with the United States by showing that he can travel to China if he determines to do so.

"As Kim did not meet with Xi, it would be difficult to think that he might seek to coordinate with China over potential dialogue with the U.S. But it could be seen as a message calling for Washington to show some sincerity," Cha Du-hyeogn, vice president at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies said.