Kim Jong-un inspects a recently developed missile manufacturing facility prior to his planned trip to China.
Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, is expected to visit China for a military parade in Beijing on Wednesday, according to reports. This visit comes amidst heightened tensions between North Korea and its neighbours, as well as the international community, over its nuclear program.
The new weapons factory that Kim inspected during a weekend visit is suspected to be located in Jagang province, a hub of North Korea's munitions industry. The factory is believed to be key to the mass production of missiles. Construction of the factory dates back to around 2004, and it is speculated that the factory may be located in Sinpung-dong, where a ballistic missile development base exists.
Kim's visit to China is seen as an attempt to showcase ties with a major ally. China is North Korea's largest trade partner and economic lifeline. The Beijing event is also seen as a show of three-way alignment against U.S. efforts to strengthen security cooperation with South Korea and Japan.
In recent months, North Korea has been shunning talks with the U.S. and South Korea since Kim's earlier round of diplomacy with President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019. The collapse of the 2019 talks was due to Trump rejecting Kim's demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for partial steps toward denuclearization.
North Korea has publicly dismissed the outreach from Trump and South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung. However, both leaders have expressed hopes to restart talks with North Korea. On Monday, South Korea suspended a military-run radio broadcast into North Korea as part of steps to ease tensions.
The Beijing military parade is expected to boost Kim's leverage ahead of a possible resumption of negotiations with Washington. Kim has been pushing to accelerate munitions production and has been supplying large quantities of military equipment, including artillery and ballistic missiles, to Russia. He has also sent thousands of troops to fight alongside Russian forces against Ukraine.
Heightened security measures have been reported at the Chinese border town of Dandong, with rail traffic and hotel bookings halted. South Korean media speculates that Kim could depart for China by train on Monday.
President Donald Trump and South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung have both expressed a desire to engage in diplomacy with North Korea. It remains to be seen whether Kim's visit to China will lead to any progress in resolving the ongoing nuclear standoff on the Korean Peninsula.
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