Xi moves to steady North Korea ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to travel to North Korea on June 8 for a two-day state visit aimed at reinforcing Beijing’s leverage over Kim Jong Un at a moment when Pyongyang has expanded its nuclear posture, tightened defence ties with Russia and shown less dependence on its long-standing patron. The trip, Xi’s first to North Korea in nearly seven years, places China at the centre of a shifting security landscape in north-east Asia. It comes after Kim used the months before th