China’s Xi to visit North Korea: state media

Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to North Korea this week for a state visit, The Associated Press reports.

Xi plans to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday and Friday, according to state-run Chinese broadcaster CCTV.

{mosads}The trip will reportedly be the first by a Chinese leader to North Korea in 14 years, according to AP. Kim previously visited Xi in Beijing in June 2018.

The Korean Central News Agency, North Korea’s official media outlet, said in an online release that Xi would visit Thursday and Friday.

The visit will reportedly coincide with the 70th anniversary of the two nations establishing diplomatic relations, the AP reports.

The meeting comes amid ongoing tensions between the U.S. and North Korea over its nuclear program. North Korean state media reportedly warned that the U.S. risks undoing diplomatic progress made between the two countries if it does not “withdraw its hostile policy” toward Pyongyang.

A second summit between Kim and President Trump ended earlier this year without reaching an agreement, reportedly due to friction over U.S. demands for denuclearization and North Korean calls for the reduction of sanctions.