SEOUL (REUTERS) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed measures to bolster "strategic and tactical" cooperation between the two countries in a second meeting on Wednesday (June 20), the North's state media said on Thursday.
The meeting between Kim and Xi came on the North Korean leader's second and last day of his latest visit to Beijing where he briefed the Chinese president on his summit with US President Donald Trump last week.
They exchanged "serious views" on the present and "new"situation, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
On Tuesday, Kim and Xi were reported by North Korean media to have reached an understanding on the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula after discussing the outcome of the US-North Korea summit.
KCNA reported on Wednesday that Kim promised during a meeting with Xi in Beijing to cooperate with Chinese officials to secure "true peace" in the process of "opening a new future" on the Korean peninsula.
Xi told Kim the neighbours' joint efforts could definitely ensure peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, China's official Xinhua news agency said. "I have faith that, with the joint efforts of China and North Korea, our relationship can definitely benefit both countries and both peoples," Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.
It was widely expected that Kim would visit Beijing to brief Xi on his summit with Trump, which included Pyongyang agreeing to hand over the remains of troops missing from the 1950-53 Korean War.
Before meeting with Xi on Wednesday, Kim visited an agricultural institute run by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, KCNA said, where he observed vegetables being grown inside.
The North Korean leader also visited a traffic control centre in Beijing before departing for Pyongyang on Wednesday afternoon, KCNA said. The visits to the two locations were also reported by Chinese media on Wednesday.
Kim Jong Un has pledged to make the economy in North Korea a priority after he had announced the achievement of a long-held ambition to develop nuclear weapons.
North Korean media has in recent months, frequently stressed advancements made in its agricultural and industrial sectors.
In Singapore, Kim had lauded the "clean, beautiful and advanced" nation and said he had learned much from the prosperous country.
