Chinese President to make a state visit to North Korea this week – ‘Explosion’ minutes after announcement causes small “earthquake”
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Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to North Korea this week, state media announced Monday, as U.S. talks with North Korea on its nuclear program are at an apparent standstill.
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.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency also announced the visit, but provided no further details.
The visit coincides with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and North Korea, CCTV said. The broadcaster added the leaders will exchange views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
Meanwhile a “suspected explosion” near the China-North Korean border caused a small earthquake on Monday, Chinese seismology authorities said, less than an hour after news broke about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming trip to Pyongyang.
According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the 1.3-magnitude earthquake with a zero meter depth occurred at 19:38 PM (1138 GMT) in Hunchun city in northeastern Jilin province.
