China’s Xi Hosts North Korea’s Kim for Talks
Two-day visit to Beijing by Kim Jong Un comes week after his historic summit with US President Donald Trump
Chinese President Xi Jinping says he hopes North Korea and the United States can implement the agreement they reached at last week's historic summit in Singapore, according to China's state broadcaster CCTV. Xi made his comments as he welcomed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to China. Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed at the summit to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula in exchange for U.S. security agreements and a suspension of joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises that have angered Pyongyang. Xi was quoted as saying that the summit marked an "important step toward the political solution of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue" and hoped North Korea and the U.S. can "implement well the outcomes achieved at the summit." Xi welcomed Kim Tuesday on the first day of a two-day visit by Kim to Beijing. CCTV showed Xi hosting Kim at Beijing's Great Hall of the People. CCTV announced Kim's visit earlier in the day, breaking from the previous practice of withholding that information until after Kim left Beijing following his two previous visits this year. Security was tight in the Chinese capital, including on roads to the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, where senior Chinese officials meet with visiting leaders and where Kim stayed during a previous visit earlier this year. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters Beijing hopes Kim's visit will strengthen bilateral communication on major issues to "promote regional peace and stability." Last week's summit was the first of its kind between a North Korean leader and a U.S. president.