Gulshan Khan/Pool via REUTERS

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit Pyongyang next month at the invitation of North Korea leader Kim Jong Un to attend the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of North Korea’s founding, Singapore’s Straits Times newspaper reported. It will be the Chinese leader’s first visit to the North Korean capital since he took power in 2012, and 13 years after the last visit by a Chinese President, when Xi’s predecessor Hu Jintao visited in 2005, the newspaper said on Saturday. North Korea's celebrations are set to take place on September 9 and the Straits Times said that Xi's visit could still be subject to last-minute changes. China is the reclusive country’s most important trading partner and Kim has visited China three times so far this year during which he has held talks with Xi on improving cooperation between the two countries and economic reforms. In particular, North Korea and the United States seem to be at odds over the issue of denuclearization – with Washington seeking progress on North Korea giving up its nuclear weapons before other issues, like the long-awaited official end of the Korean War, while Pyongyang clearly views things differently.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Pyongyang to attend the celebration of the 70th anniversary of North Korea's founding.