Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to North Korea this week, as US talks with North Korea on its nuclear program remain at a standstill.
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Xi will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the visit on Thursday and Friday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said. It said the trip will be the first by a Chinese president in 14 years.
CCTV says the leaders will exchange views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
The visit comes as negotiations between the US and North Korea appear to have reached an impasse.
A summit in Vietnam in February between Kim and President Donald Trump failed after the US rejected North Korea's request for extensive relief from UN sanctions in exchange for dismantling its main nuclear complex.
Last month, North Korea fired short-range missiles and other weapons into the sea in an apparent effort to apply pressure on the US
KCNA reported in April that Kim said he will give the US "till the end of the year" to reach out with further proposals.
Kim travelled to the Russian Far East in April for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Since taking office in 2012, Xi has met with Kim four times in China, around the times of Kim's meetings with Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, highlighting Beijing's role as a key player in the nuclear standoff.
Beijing has long advocated a "dual suspension" approach in which North Korea would halt its nuclear and missile activities while the US and South Korea cease large-scale joint military exercises.
Australian Associated Press
