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Kim crosses new border bridge into China
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to the Chinese border city of Dandong on the morning of the 24th, making his sixth visit to China and his first in about 13 months, according to South Korean officials.
Kim left Pyongyang and traveled through the North Korean border city of Sinuiju before crossing the New Yalu River Bridge into Dandong, in China’s Liaoning province. China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency later reported that Kim had departed Dandong after completing his schedule there.
The trip followed Kim’s visit to China in September of the previous year for a military parade marking Victory Day.
South Korean intelligence tracked the trip
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service briefed the head of the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee and several lawmakers from both major parties on the possibility of Kim visiting China. A South Korean government official said authorities had detected unusual activity a day earlier and were tracking developments.
South Korean officials also identified Kim’s apparent route from Pyongyang through Sinuiju and across the new bridge to Dandong.
Lawmakers weigh possible motives
Rep. Youn Kun-young of the governing Democratic Party, the Intelligence Committee’s senior ruling-party member, said Kim appeared likely to return home the same day. He suggested the visit could serve two purposes: sending a positive signal about a possible U.S.-North Korea summit and marking an event in China-North Korea relations, such as the opening of the New Yalu River Bridge.
Youn said the trip was expected to be brief because the Chinese Communist Party’s fifth plenary session was scheduled to begin on the 26th. He also noted that China commemorates Oct. 25 in connection with what it calls the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, its term for its intervention in the Korean War.
Possible implications for U.S.-North Korea diplomacy
Kim traveled to China in 2018 before summits involving North Korea, South Korea and the United States, prompting speculation that the latest trip could also be linked to diplomacy. Youn cautioned, however, that the earlier pattern did not necessarily explain this visit.
President Donald Trump said on the 19th that he did not know whether he would meet Kim on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Kim was reported to have met Chinese Premier Li Qiang, while speculation suggested he may not have held a separate meeting with President Xi Jinping. Neither North Korea nor China had issued a formal announcement detailing the visit’s purpose.
South Korea’s presidential office said it was closely monitoring developments while considering several possibilities.
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