On a surprise visit to China, North Korea's Kim pledges denuclearisation

Beijing: North Korea's Kim Jong Un made his first-ever foreign trip as leader to meet China's president in Beijing, the official Xinhua news agency said Wednesday, ahead of proposed summits with Seoul and Washington that could unsettle nuclear-armed Pyongyang's sole ally.

During the visit from Sunday to Wednesday which came at the invitation of Xi Jinping, Kim held talks with the Chinese president who hosted a banquet to welcome the North Korean leader and his wife Ri Sol Ju, Xinhua said.

"I have had successful talks with General Secretary Xi Jinping on developing relations between the two parties and the two countries, our respective domestic situation, maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and other issues," Kim said at the banquet.

The North Korean leader further termed the China visit his "solemn duty". He also said that his country is committed to denuclearisation.

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Relations between China and North Korea had soured as Beijing has backed tough United Nations sanctions to punish Pyongyang for its missile and nuclear tests.

Analysts had earlier suggested Beijing had been sidelined by Pyongyang's approaches to Seoul and Washington, but Kim's visit puts China firmly back at the centre of the diplomatic scrum.

"Both Comrade Chairman and I have personally experienced and witnessed the development of China-DPRK relationship," Xi said, using the initials for North Korea's official name.

"This is a strategic choice and the only right choice both sides have made based on history and reality.... This should not and will not change because of any single event at a particular time," Xi said.

Kim had not met Xi since the young North Korean leader took over after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in 2011.