[Anchor]
Chinese media outlets are pouring out reports regarding President Xi Jinping's state visit to North Korea. Let's connect to Beijing for more details.
Correspondent Han Sang-woo, this is the first visit in seven years. How are the Chinese media reporting on this trip?
[Reporter]
Major state-run media outlets, including Xinhua News Agency, CCTV, and the People's Daily, are delivering President Xi's itinerary in North Korea—from his departure and arrival to the welcoming ceremony and the summit—in near real-time.
This shows just how much significance China is placing on this visit.
Over the past few years, as North Korea and Russia have grown closer following the war in Ukraine, China's relative influence has weakened.
As we saw earlier, President Xi revealed during the summit that strengthening North Korea-China relations is a key goal of his visit.
This is interpreted as an intention to increase his influence over North Korea to gain the upper hand in his upcoming visit to the United States scheduled for September.
[Anchor]
Is there also high interest in China regarding economic cooperation with North Korea?
[Reporter]
Yes, economically, the development of the Tumen River region, where the borders of China, North Korea, and Russia meet, is a major topic.
Through this, China plans to solidify the trilateral solidarity between China, North Korea, and Russia while securing a maritime route to the East Sea.
In his opening remarks today (June 8), he stated, "We will strengthen the alignment of our development strategies and expand practical cooperation in areas such as agriculture, trade, and healthcare," adding, "We will also expand exchanges by resuming civil aviation flights and international passenger train services."
Zheng Shanjie, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, who oversees China's economic and social development and infrastructure construction, accompanied the delegation on this visit, which can be seen as a sign of intent to expand economic exchanges, including practical development and investment.
Key officials from the Ministry of Commerce, which handles trade, also accompanied him, suggesting that discussions were held not only on expanding North Korea-China exchanges but also on revitalizing trilateral exchanges between China, North Korea, and Russia through the development of the Tumen River basin.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.