Kim Jong-un Visits Dandong in Surprise Day Trip Without Meeting Xi Jinping

[Anchor]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a surprise visit to Dandong, China, yesterday (October 24) and returned home immediately. This marks the first time he has traveled to China and returned without meeting President Xi Jinping. As observations emerge that diplomatic protocol between North Korea and China was broken, attention is focused on the background of the visit.

Beijing correspondent Han Sang-woo reports.

[Reporter]

A vehicle carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un enters Dandong via the New Yalu River Bridge yesterday morning.

When Kim's entourage arrives in front of the so-called War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea Memorial Tower, which commemorates China's entry into the Korean War, Wang Huning, Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and fourth-ranking official in the Chinese leadership, greets him.

Foreign policy figures, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Liu Haixing, head of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, also turned out in full force.

[China Central Television (CCTV) Report: This visit serves to inherit the traditional friendship between the two countries, strengthen public support, deepen political mutual trust, and promote cooperative development.]

Upon his return, officials from both countries got out of their cars at the midpoint of the New Yalu River Bridge and escorted Kim as he walked back.

Assessments suggest that ongoing North Korea-China diplomatic protocol was broken during this visit.

This is the first time Kim has returned without meeting President Xi Jinping. In May 2018, when dialogue between North Korea and the United States was gaining rapid momentum, President Xi even traveled to Dalian in the northeast to meet Kim.

This time, he only met with Wang Huning, the fourth-ranking CPPCC chairman.

This is considered unusual even when considering that it would be difficult for President Xi to leave Beijing ahead of the Fifth Plenary Session, one of China's largest political events opening tomorrow.

A South Korean government official also noted that it was expected he would meet Premier Li Keqiang, the second-ranking official, if not the first-ranking leader, adding that it is true various diplomatic exceptional circumstances occurred.

Some analysts suggest that the visit was a strategic decision by North Korea to display its close ties with China in order to gain an upper hand in negotiations with the United States.

(Video Editing: Jung Sung-hoon, Design: Seo Hyun-jung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.