SEOUL: Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China supports North Korea’s “correct direction” in politically resolving issues on the Korean Peninsula. Xi said so in an op-ed in North Korean state newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Wednesday.

The front-page op-ed is an honor rarely granted to foreign leaders and comes a day before Xi is set to visit Pyongyang on Thursday and Friday at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He is the first Chinese leader to visit North Korea in 14 years. China will firmly support Kim’s achievements in “socialist construction” aimed at economic development and improving people’s lives, according to the newspaper.

The visit is of immense diplomatic significance for North Korea because Kim’s drive to rebuild the economy has suffered since the collapse of the Hanoi summit between North Korea’s Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in February.

As nuclear talks between the United States and North Korea remain stalled and tensions have mounted between Beijing and Washington over trade and other issues, Xi’s visit instills new energy in the high-level diplomatic activity around the Korean Peninsula ahead of the G20 summit in Japan later this month.

Xi said the two Asian countries will “strengthen our strategic communication and exchanges.” Xi said North Korea and China would expand and develop relations in civilian sectors, including education, culture, sports, tourism, youth and rural areas. (Agencies)