(Beijing/Seoul=Yonhap News) Correspondent Jeong Seong-jo, Reporters Kwon Su-hyeon and Kwon Sook-hee = North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un, who is visiting China, held a summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the 4th (local time), the state-run China Central Television (CCTV) reported.
According to reports, Chairman Kim held a meeting with President Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing that afternoon.
Chinese state-run media outlets, including CCTV and Xinhua News Agency, reported live that the summit between the two countries was about to take place and that it had"been held" and "concluded."
Just before these media reports, Yonhap News captured Chairman Kim's ceremonial motorcade moving to the Great Hall of the People at around 5:45 p.m. that day.
Considering the time of the report, the two leaders appear to have met together for about an hour.
The meeting between the two leaders is the first in six years, following two meetings held that year: Chairman Kim's visit to China in January 2019 and President Xi's visit to Pyongyang in June of that year.
Chairman Kim, who left Pyongyang by train on the 1st to attend China's 80th Victory Day celebrations and arrived in Beijing on the 2nd, observed the military parade with President Xi on the 3rd.
When Chairman Kim was greeted by Chairman Xi, he received the highest level of courtesy, equivalent to second in the protocol, after Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Chairman Kim's fifth visit to China took place after six years and eight months.
The previous four visits to China took place in March, May, and June 2018 and January 2019, respectively, during the first term of US President Donald Trump, when inter-Korean and North Korea-US dialogues were in progress.
As North Korea's immediate challenge is economic issues, the talks are drawing attention to the various possibilities for cooperation between the two countries, including in the economic sector.
Chairman Kim held a bilateral meeting with President Putin at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on the 3rd, lasting two hours and 30 minutes.
Earlier, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the planned North Korea-China summit and stated that it would expand cooperation and exchanges between the two countries.
At a regular briefing that day, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiaqun said,"The leaders of the two parties and two countries will hold talks and exchange in-depth views on North Korea-China relations and issues of common concern," adding,"China hopes to strengthen strategic communication with North Korea, closely engage in exchanges and cooperation, and deepen exchanges of experience in state administration."
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