Seoul — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un personally greeted a top Chinese official in Pyongyang and called for stronger ties with Beijing, state media from both countries said on Sunday as the traditional allies seek to heal battered relations. Kim met Song Tao, head of the Chinese Communist Party central committee’s international department, who was leading an art troupe to a spring festival in the North’s capital. The delegation arrived just weeks after Kim made a surprise visit to Beijing and met Chinese President Xi Jinping, signalling an attempt by both leaders to shore up a key alliance ahead of a period of high-stakes diplomacy. Kim is expected to hold meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in April and with US President Donald Trump in the weeks after that. The North’s official KCNA news agency said Kim welcomed Song and his delegation in a meeting on Saturday at which Song conveyed Xi’s "warm greetings". Mutual concerns The two exchanged "profound views on the impo...
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