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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed sea trials of a new warship repaired after a failed launch last year and vowed to accelerate efforts to build a nuclear-armed navy, state media said on Saturday, showcasing his expanding military capabilities ahead of a visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Kim visited the 5,000-ton destroyer Kang Kon on Thursday as it underwent capability tests. Photos released by the agency showed him accompanied by his increasingly prominent teenage daughter, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, whom South Korean officials say may be being groomed as his successor. Kim Jong Un called for "rapidly developing" naval forces capable of playing a larger role in the country's nuclear deterrent and dealing a "deadly blow at the enemy any moment under the water or on the water," KCNA said. He said the navy was a key focus of a new five-year defense plan approved at a ruling party congress earlier this year, which he
Chinese leader Xi Jinping will travel to North Korea next week, both countries announced Friday, in what will be his first visit in nearly seven years. His trip will the latest in a series of steps by China to reinforce its close ties with its nuclear-armed neighbour, whose leader Kim Jong Un has reached out to Russia in recent years, notably by sending troops and conventional weapons to support its war against Ukraine. Kim has likewise been cozying up again to China, the North's biggest trade partner and aid provider, in the past year. "As North Korea builds closer ties with Russia, China seeks to use Xi's trip to reassert its influence over Pyongyang and safeguard its strategic interests in northeast Asia," said William Yang, an analyst for the International Crisis Group. Xi will make a state visit from Monday to Tuesday, state media from both nations said in brief dispatches. His last visit was in June 2019. The trip will come just weeks after Xi hosted US President Donald Trum
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that Moscow will not interfere in the "delicate" bilateral relations between India and China, expressing confidence that both New Delhi and Beijing are committed to resolving their long-standing boundary disputes amicably. In a wide-ranging interaction with the heads of major global news agencies, Putin praised both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping and said both the leaders are determined to resolve the border issue peacefully. "This is a delicate, multi-faceted relationship between India and China, and interfering into them is not a good idea. Of course, we interact with both our friends -- both India and China," the Russian President said responding to a question from PTI's CEO and Editor-in-Chief Vijay Joshi. "President Xi and Prime Minister Modi are both trying to resolve all the issues of mutual interest, including the the border issue," he said. india and China rolled out a series of measures in
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin expressed their opposition to the US-Israeli war on Iran on Wednesday, while warning that restrictions on shipping imposed by "individual states" threatened global trade, in a veiled reference to Tehran, which has blocked shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The US and Israeli strikes against Iran are illegal and seriously undermine stability in the Middle East, said a joint statement issued at the end of their day-long talks here. It also criticised US President Donald Trump's Golden Dome shield defence plan. The implementation of the Golden Dome project a multilayer missile defence system initiated by Trump - would have "serious negative consequences for international security", according to the joint statement released by the Kremlin. Putin's visit to Beijing followed days after Trump's tour here during which the Iran war, opening of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran dominated their talks. Both China and Russia ar
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for an immediate end to hostilities in West Asia, saying the situation had reached a "critical juncture", as he held talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin here amid escalating regional tensions. Welcoming Putin at the Great Hall of the People, Xi said renewed fighting in the Gulf and the wider West Asia must be avoided and stressed that negotiations should continue. An early end to the conflict will help ease disruptions to energy supplies, industrial and supply chains, and the international trade order, the Chinese president said. The talks between Xi and Putin came days after US President Donald Trump visited China from May 14-15 and held extensive discussions with the Chinese leader on the Iran-Israel conflict, the Strait of Hormuz and bilateral trade frictions. The meeting is being closely watched as both China and Russia are key strategic partners of Iran with close economic and military ties to Tehran and could ...
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held wide-ranging talks here on Wednesday on bilateral ties and key global issues, including Iran, the Ukraine war, and trade. Their talks assumed significance as the two leaders met days after US President Donald Trump visited Beijing from May 14-15 and held extensive discussions with Xi on issues ranging from Iran and the Ukraine war to bilateral trade frictions and regional developments. Ahead of the talks at the Great Hall of the People, Putin was accorded a ceremonial welcome by Xi. The ceremonial welcome was followed by bilateral talks. Putin, who arrived here on Tuesday night, was received by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. In a video address on Tuesday delivered before his visit, Putin said Russia-China relations had reached "a truly unprecedented level". He said regular top-level exchanges between the two countries formed an integral part of efforts to deepen bilateral ties and unlock their "limitl
Russian President Vladimir Putin is travelling to China to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping less than a week after US President Donald Trump wrapped up his own trip to Beijing. Putin is scheduled to be in China on Tuesday and Wednesday in a visit likely to be closely watched as Beijing seeks to maintain stable relations with the United States while also preserving strong ties with Russia. The Kremlin has said Putin and Xi plan to discuss economic cooperation between the two countries, but also "key international and regional issues". The visit coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship signed in 2001. "The Trump visit was about stabilising the world's most important bilateral relationship; the Putin visit is about reassuring a long-standing strategic partner," said Wang Zichen, deputy secretary-general for the Beijing-based think tank Centre for China & Globalisation. "For China, these two tracks are not mutually exclusive." Putin last visited .
The US and China have agreed to set up boards on trade and investment and build a constructive relationship of strategic stability based on fairness and reciprocity, according to a fact sheet by the White House on President Donald Trump's visit to Beijing. The fact sheet, issued on Sunday, said China will address the United States' concerns regarding supply chain shortages related to rare earths and other critical minerals, including yttrium, scandium, neodymium, and indium. It also said that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed that Iran cannot possess a nuclear weapon, called to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and agreed that no country or organisation can be allowed to charge tolls. The fact sheet also mentioned that Trump will welcome Xi for a visit to Washington this fall, and both countries will support each other as hosts of the G20 and APEC summits later this year. "President Trump and President Xi confirmed their shared goal to denuclearise North Korea," the fact she