N. Korean officials pay tribute to fallen Chinese soldiers at Friendship Tower

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un journeyed to Dandong, a Chinese border city, for a surprise visit on Saturday, signaling the country's push to modernize its bus system and strengthen industrial ties with China. Kim crossed the newly constructed New Yalu River Bridge into China and returned via the same bridge later that day, marking his first visit to China since a military parade in Beijing in September.

This trip occurred on the eve of the 76th anniversary of Chinese troops entering the Korean War in 1950, a significant moment when Dandong and the Yalu River played a crucial role.

Kim's primary objective during his Saturday visit was to commemorate the wartime alliance between North Korea and China. However, his afternoon activities at an automotive plant, Dandong Huanghai Automobile, garnered significant attention. Founded in 1951, the factory originally repaired logistics for the Chinese People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War. Today, it specializes in buses, special-purpose vehicles, and new-energy vehicles. In May, the company delivered a fleet of compressed natural gas buses to Colombia.

The visit underscores Kim's efforts to electrify and upgrade North Korea's bus system. A 18-minute video released by state-run Korean Central Television showed Kim inspecting assembly lines, opening bus doors, and boarding one of the vehicles. Despite China and other UN member states being prohibited from supplying industrial machinery or transport vehicles to North Korea under a 2017 UN Security Council resolution, Kim brought a delegation of top officials, including Jo Yong-won, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, and Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui.

Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un's powerful sister, also joined the tour, along with other influential party members.

Beijing sent its delegation, led by Wang Huning, a member of the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee and chairman of its political advisory body. The delegation included Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Liu Haixing, the International Department chief, Ma Zhaoxu, the foreign executive vice-minister, Liaoning provincial party chief Xu Kunlin, Dandong party secretary Jiang Bing, and China's ambassador to North Korea Wang Yajun.

The visit takes place just weeks before China hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen from November 18 to 19. This summit may provide an opportunity for US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un again, with Trump expressing interest in holding trilateral talks.