Kim Jong Un concluded a two-day whirlwind visit to China Wednesday, where he declared North Korea's unstinting "friendship" with Beijing in a show of loyalty to his main ally following a landmark summit with US President Donald Trump.
It was Kim's third official visit to China, designed to reassure Beijing that Pyongyang will not neglect its interests as Trump and the young autocrat move into uncharted diplomatic terrain.
The performance is part of a delicate balancing act for Kim, who analysts say is seeking to play US and Chinese interests off each other while maintaining good relations with Beijing, his economic patron and diplomatic protector.
China and the US both hope to see the Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons. But Beijing is concerned Washington and Pyongyang might move closer at its expense, a possibility that China sees as threatening to its economic and security interests in the region. While China was not present at the June 12 summit in Singapore, it lent Kim a plane to travel to the city-state, a clear sign that it remains an influential force in the diplomatic shuffle.
The Cold War-era allies, which fought side-by-side against US-led UN forces and South Korea in the 1950-1953 Korean War, have sought to repair ties strained by Pyongyang's nuclear tests and Beijing's support of subsequent UN sanctions.
Kim chose Beijing for his first official foreign trip in March and met Xi again in May in the northeastern port city of Dalian.
Over the course of this two-day visit, Kim and Xi exchanged vows of friendship and promises of economic cooperation, in a carefully choreographed display of amity that ignored the recent history of chilly relations between the neighbours.
The North Korean leader, who was greeted by a military honour guard and cheering children at the Great Hall of the People Tuesday, said he valued the "recently strengthened strategic cooperation" between the two countries, according to North Korea's official KCNA news agency.
"He expressed the determination and will to further develop the closer relations of friendship, unity and cooperation between the two parties and the two peoples of the DPRK and China," KCNA said.
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