North Korean leader Kim vows to strengthen ties with China during Dandong visit

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un returned from a visit to the Chinese border city of Dandong, where he vowed to strengthen longstanding bilateral ties “forged in blood,” state media reported Sunday.

Kim visited the Memorial Hall of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea on Saturday, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

He arrived in Dandong on a one-day trip via a newly built border bridge and met with Wang Huning, China’s fourth-highest-ranking official and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

Kim was accompanied by senior party and government officials, including his sister Kim Yo-jong and Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other senior Chinese officials were also present, according to the agency.

The visit was Kim’s first trip to China since September 2025, when he traveled to Beijing for events marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

It marked his sixth visit to China since taking power in 2011.

Kim paid tribute at a war memorial to Chinese soldiers who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War, as China marked the 76th anniversary of its entry into the conflict on Sunday.

“We will always remember the history when the excellent sons and daughters of the Chinese people helped our revolution at the cost of their blood and steadily and firmly carry forward the history of the DPRK-China friendship,” Kim said.

DPRK refers to North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Kim also attended a banquet hosted by Wang at Xi’s direction and visited a bus factory in Dandong, according to the Korean Central News Agency.