Seoul June 30 (IANS) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a region near his country s border with China in an apparent attempt to boost economic cooperation with Beijing Pyongyang s state media reported on Saturday.
Kim paid a visit to a sugar plantation in Sindo county in the North Pyongan province which borders China s Liaoning province official news agency KCNA reported.
The region rarely visited by the country s top leadership also includes Hwangkumpyong island. The island hosts a joint economic project by Pyongyang and Beijing which has been suspended since the execution of Kim s uncle Jang Song-thaek -- a leader close to China -- in 2013.
The island situated on the Yalu river which flows through both countries was supposed to host a special economic zone dedicated to the trading of goods.
Kim was accompanied by the first vice director of international affairs of the Workers Party of Korea Kim Song-nam who is considered in-charge of relations with China in the party.
After 2017 witnessed heightened tensions due to continuous weapons tests by North Korea its main trade ally China strictly implemented UN s sanctions on the regime although it has recently advocated their gradual withdrawal after Kim has led a diplomatic turnaround.
Since the beginning of 2018 the North Korean leader has met his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in on two occasions while also meeting US President Donald Trump.
Kim signed joint declarations with Moon and Trump pledging to achieve total denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

--IANS soni/vm