Xi's trip to Pyongyang positive, timely move

Courtesy demands reciprocity. After Kim Jong-un visited China four times in less than 10 months, President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Pyongyang on Thursday and Friday. This would be the first visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea by China's top State leader since 2005.

Unlike the conventional practice - the Foreign Ministry usually briefs about Xi's foreign trips in advance - this time his visit to Pyongyang was announced by the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on Monday evening, highlighting the special significance attached to the trip.

That the Foreign Ministry has responded to questions on Xi's possible visit to the DPRK several times since last year shows the high hopes the world has pinned on China leveraging its unique influence to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.