Kim Jong Un makes surprise visit to China, honors Chinese Korean War soldiers in Dandong

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made an unannounced visit on Saturday to Dandong, the Chinese city on the border with his country, Chinese state television reported. Kim was accompanied throughout by Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo, while Foreign Minister Wang Yi also took part in the memorial ceremony.

The two laid a wreath at the monument to the Chinese People's Volunteers, which honors Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War, when China and North Korea fought together against U.S.-led U.N. forces. The visit came shortly before the 76th anniversary of Chinese troops entering that war, which Beijing calls “the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea.”

Thanks for Beijing's support

According to the Xinhua news agency, Kim thanked China for its long-standing support for North Korea's socialist cause and called the prospects for cooperation “very promising.” During his stay he also visited an automobile factory in Dandong. South Korean media noted that the program did not include a meeting with President Xi Jinping, who made a state visit to North Korea in June.

Kim returned home via the four-lane road bridge over the Yalu River, about three kilometers long, linking Dandong with the North Korean city of Sinuiju. The bridge opened to traffic in mid-October and is meant to ease trade between the two countries. China is the most important trading partner of Pyongyang, which is under U.N. sanctions over its nuclear weapons program.