[Anchor]

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un repeatedly emphasized during his recent visit to China that relations between Pyongyang and Beijing are a blood alliance forged in blood. As if to demonstrate that international sanctions prohibiting the export of transportation vehicles to North Korea are futile, he also visited a bus factory in China.

Reporter Kim Ayeong has the details.

[Reporter]

North Korea's state-run Korean Central Television (KCTV) yesterday aired an 18-minute edited video covering leader Kim Jong Un's one-day visit to China on October 24 (the day before yesterday).

As if seeking to spotlight the historical ties between North Korea and China, the video opened with archival footage recalling the participation of Chinese troops in the Korean War.

Kim reportedly stressed that the North Korea-China relationship is one forged in blood.

[Korean Central Television: "Forever carrying on the invincible North Korea-China friendship forged in blood. We will never forget for generations to come the history of aiding us in blood."]

While Chinese state media mentioned the term "blood alliance" only once regarding bilateral ties, North Korean broadcasts used similar expressions six times.

Even though a summit between Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping was skipped, North Korea appears to be calculating that showcasing its solidarity with Beijing and highlighting China's influence will enhance its own leverage in future negotiations with the United States.

A separate clip was also released showing Kim touring a local bus factory in Dandong, China, taking a keen interest by examining parts and boarding a bus himself.

With UN Security Council resolutions banning the export of transportation vehicles to North Korea, some observers interpret Kim's visit to the bus factory as a move to signal either the neutralization of international sanctions or the deepening of practical industrial cooperation between Pyongyang and Beijing.

[Yang Moo-jin / Chair Professor at the University of North Korean Studies: "Could it be that he requested cooperation (regarding the provision of buses)? Asking them to speed things up, and furthermore, suggesting they could engage in industrial cooperation such as assembling buses..."]

Kim was accompanied on this trip by his sister, Kim Yo-jong, director of the General Affairs Department of the Workers' Party of Korea, while his wife Ri Sol-ju and daughter Ju-ae were not seen.

(Video by Cho Mu-hwan)