Xi Hails ‘New Chapter’ With North Korea Ahead of Landmark Visit(Source Yahoo News)

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for starting a “new chapter” with North Korea in a newspaper commentary published in Pyongyang ahead of the first visit by a Chinese leader in 14 years.

Xi’s state visit on Thursday and Friday to meet leader Kim Jong Un was expected to be a show of unity among the longtime allies who have both been the target of Trump administration fury. Referring to the North Korean leader as “Comrade Kim Jong Un,” Xi wrote: “I wish to use this visit to facilitate a China-North Korea cooperation relationship and open a new chapter based on the traditional China-North Korea friendship.” China provides a lifeline to North Korea’s paltry economy that is squeezed by international sanction to punish it for nuclear and missile tests that defied United Nation resolutions.