SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in China, his first visit to the country in a year, South Korea’s government said Saturday.
Kim’s visit to China is his latest move in an increasingly assertive foreign policy as he seeks to align Pyongyang with Beijing and Moscow in a united front against the United States under what he portrays as a “new Cold War.”
Kim appears to have arrived in the Chinese border city of Dandong Saturday after crossing a newly opened bridge linking the two countries, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles affairs related to North Korea. The ministry didn’t immediately provide other details.
Youn Kunyoung, a South Korean lawmaker and vice chairperson of the National Assembly’s intelligence committee, which receives regular intelligence briefings from Seoul’s spy agency, told The Associated Press there are indications that Kim has met Chinese Premier Li Qiang, a top economic official. Youn said he was first briefed by the National Intelligence Service on Friday on the possibility of a Kim visit to China, but did not give specific details about what the agency said.
It wasn’t clear how long Kim would stay. Youn said he received additional intelligence that it was possible that Kim is on a one-day trip and may return to North Korea in the coming hours.
Experts said the opening of the New Yalu River Bridge this month was a key symbol of strengthening ties between North Korea and China and reflected their intent to expand trade, as it is expected to accommodate two-way traffic around the clock, including container shipments and heavy cargo trucks.
North Korean state media did not immediately report on Kim’s visit and China’s Foreign Ministry press office did not respond to a request for confirmation.
Citing anonymous diplomatic sources, Japan’s Kyodo News agency reported earlier on Saturday that Chinese authorities were imposing strict traffic restrictions in parts of Dandong and all hotel rooms in those areas were unavailable for reservation. Japan’s TBS television network aired footage of what it said was likely Kim’s motorcade in Dandong, including a black limousine bearing North Korean flags.
Kim has recently sought to strengthen ties with China, the North's traditional main ally and economic lifeline, after years of prioritizing ties with Russia. He sent thousands of troops and conventional weapons to support President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, possibly in exchange for military and economic assistance. Kim's latest visit to China is his sixth since taking power in late 2011 following the death of his father. The visit appears timed to underscore the strength of his ties with Beijing ahead of the Oct. 25 anniversary of China's first major victory in the Korean War, which was days after Chinese troops crossed the Yalu River into North Korea in October 1950.
The war began with North Korea’s surprise attack on the South in June 1950, prompting a U.N.-led coalition headed by the United States to intervene and push back the offensive. North Korea was backed primarily by Chinese forces, with assistance from the then-Soviet Union’s air force, before fighting ended with a 1953 armistice that left the peninsula technically at war.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Friday that a delegation from China’s Ministry of Veterans Affairs arrived in Pyongyang the previous day, but didn’t say whether their visit was linked to preparations for the war anniversary.
Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to Pyongyang in June for a meeting with Kim. During their summit, Xi expressed Beijing's willingness to expand bilateral cooperation in trade, agriculture, construction and technology, while Kim described ties with China as a top strategic priority.
Kim last visited Beijing in September 2025, when he met with Xi and watched a military parade alongside Putin and other foreign leaders.
Kim has maintained a hard line toward Seoul and has so far rebuffed a proposal from U.S. President Donald Trump to revive their diplomacy, which broke down in 2019 during Trump’s first term. Kim’s government has called for Washington to abandon its “hostile policy” and drop demands for the North’s denuclearization as a precondition for renewed talks.
South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers last month that it saw a 50% possibility of a meeting between Trump and Kim on the sidelines of next month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, summit in Shenzhen, China.
__ AP video journalist Mayuko Ono contributed to this report from Tokyo.
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