Xi and Kim express hopes for greater ties between China and North Korea

SEOUL, South Korea — Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un underscored their commitment to deepen cooperation and rebuild their complicated traditional alliance, as Xi is on a rare visit to Pyongyang in a likely attempt to reassert Beijing's unique influence over its socialist neighbor. It's extremely difficult to independently verify reports released by state-controlled media outlets of North Korea and China. But their dispatches on the meeting touted a joint pu