Xi Jinping may visit North Korea soon

Chinese President Xi Jinping could visit North Korea as soon as next week, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday, as quoted by Reuters.

A senior government source said Xi could try to mediate between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, CE Report quotes AGERPRES.

Another Yonhap source said a Chinese security team and protocol officials had recently been in Pyongyang, and a visit by Xi in late May or early June was likely. The

Beijing leader hosted his US counterpart last week, the official quoted by Yonhap said on Wednesday evening.

Trump, who met Kim three times during his first term in the White House to negotiate North Korea's nuclear program, has said he is willing to talk directly with him again and has maintained that they have a good relationship.

South Korea's foreign ministry did not comment on Xi's possible visit to Pyongyang, but said the Seoul government hopes that dialogue between North Korea and China will contribute to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and would like the Chinese side to play a constructive role.

China is a vital economic and political ally for North Korea, and the two countries have made efforts to re-establish rapprochement after bilateral relations cooled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kim visited Beijing last year, where he attended a major military parade with Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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