North Korean leader Kim Jong Un returned to his country, on Saturday, after a one-day visit to the Chinese border city of Dandong, where he met with a senior Chinese official, taking the recently opened bridge linking the two countries.
China's top political advisor Wang Huning met with Kim Jong Un in Dandong, where he conveyed to him "Chinese President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings and best wishes," according to China's official Xinhua News Agency.
The agency added: “When Kim Jong Un left Dandong, Wang Huning accompanied him to the New Yalu River Bridge between China and North Korea.”
South Korean government sources, reported by Yonhap News Agency, earlier Saturday, revealed this visit, which neither North Korea nor China announced in advance.
South Korean lawmaker Yun Kun-young said that it was “believed” that Kim met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Saturday.
According to Agence France-Presse, the new bridge, which was opened more than a week ago, will strengthen economic ties between one of the most closed countries in the world and its powerful neighbor.
The construction of the four-lane bridge, which is 3,026 meters long, was completed in 2014, but its opening was delayed due to several problems, including the absence of roads leading to it and customs facilities on the North Korean side, according to South Korean media.
The opening of the new bridge came about a month after North Korea and Russia opened the first land bridge linking them, in a move that Pyongyang considered evidence of strengthening relations between them after it sent forces to support Moscow in its war in Ukraine.
Kim's visit to Dandong comes before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in November in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, where speculation is being raised about the possibility of a meeting between the North Korean leader and US President Donald Trump.
Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies in South Korea, told Agence France-Presse that Kim Jong-un “may have sought to reaffirm the economic cooperation agreed upon during Xi Jinping’s visit to North Korea” earlier this year, and “pressure China to accelerate the implementation of its commitments.”
He added: “He may also have sought to obtain Beijing’s active support and cooperation in preparation for a possible summit with Trump.”
China is North Korea's largest trading partner and a vital source of diplomatic, economic and political support for the nuclear-armed state.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for transforming his country's army units into elite, self-sufficient combat units, during a two-day meeting of unit commanders in Pyongyang.
This event confirmed the priority of Kim's consistent policy of strengthening military capabilities.
In a speech at the North Korean Army Unit Commanders' Conference held on October 22-23, which KCNA described as the first comprehensive military gathering since the Ninth Congress of the North's ruling party in February, Kim called on every unit to be fully prepared so that "the goal of military strengthening in the new era" can be achieved.
"Let's build the strongest army and accelerate the pace of the military revolution our way," Kim said.
During North Korea's ninth ruling party congress in February, which sets the country's course for the next five years, Kim called for strengthening conventional armed forces and reaffirmed efforts to develop nuclear weapons and missiles.
