Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday that Beijing’s friendship with Pyongyang was “invincible” and pledged closer cooperation, North Korean state media reported, as Xi prepared to visit the North for the first time in seven years.

“No matter how the times change or how the international situation evolves, the traditional friendship between China and North Korea will always remain invincible,” Xi wrote in an article featured on the front page of Rodong Sinmun newspaper.

Xi arrived in Pyongyang for his first official visit to North Korea since 2019. China has been North Korea’s main trading partner by far for decades and a key source of diplomatic and economic support for a country hit by multiple international sanctions.

Meanwhile, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said South Korea should not give up on North Korea’s denuclearization as Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang for a two-day visit.

Lee made the remark at a press conference marking his first year in office, which he took after months of political upheaval triggered by his predecessor’s martial law declaration.

“We should not give up on the goal of denuclearization because we cannot pursue nuclear armament ourselves,” he said.

Xi makes the trip to the North after hosting US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin separately in Beijing recently and as North Korea’s nuclear talks with Washington remain deadlocked. (AFP)