Who is Wang Huning? The No. 4 Chinese official becoming a key player on North Korean affairs

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Wang Huning, China’s No. 4 official and chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, stand on the newly opened New Yalu River Bridge on Oct. 24, 2026. (KCNA/Yonhap)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a rare one-day visit to the Chinese border city of Dandong on Saturday, traveling in an official vehicle across a route that showcased the newly opened New Yalu River Bridge and meeting China’s fourth-ranking official instead of holding a summit with President Xi Jinping — a series of unusual choices that underscored Pyongyang’s intent to reaffirm its longstanding alliance with Beijing.

Kim’s visit took place without prior notice from either North Korea or China. 

“Signs of movement were detected the day before Kim visited China,” one South Korean government source said Sunday. Signs of a visit by a high-ranking North Korean official had reportedly begun to appear several days earlier in the local area. 

A source familiar with North Korean affairs informed the Hankyoreh, “Some streets had already been cordoned off two or three days ago, and rumors were circulating that Kim would make a visit to commemorate the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.”

Local footage showed the Chinese and North Korean national flags hanging side by side on major roads in Dandong, with police deployed around the New Yalu River Bridge. While Kim previously travelled to China by private train and jet, during this visit he crossed the border by car. 

Saturday’s visit marks the first time Kim visited China without meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping. Kim instead met and held talks with Wang Huning, China’s No. 4 official and chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, who is also known as a trusted strategist to Xi. 

Wang guided Kim through the Memorial Hall of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and accompanied the North Korean leader to visit the Dandong City Bus Factory. He went out of his way to ensure proper protocol, hosting a reception to welcome Kim as per Xi’s “special instructions.”

Wang also accompanied Kim to the middle point of the New Yalu River Bridge, which opened on Oct. 15 after being largely completed 12 years ago, to see the North Korean leader off. 

The North Korean and Chinese delegation of high-ranking officials also stood side by side to take a commemorative photograph. 

Kim was accompanied by key political figures and close confidants such as Jo Yong-won, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea; Choe Son-hui, the North Korean foreign minister; Kim Tok-hun, North Korea’s first vice premier; Kim Yo-jong, his sister and a high-ranking WPK member; Ri Il-hwan, the secretary of the WPK Central Committee, and others. 

The word “blood” — as in “blood alliance” — was mentioned seven times in the report published by the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers’ Party of Korea, on the visit.

The Korean Central Television dedicated 18 minutes to share the details of Kim’s itinerary and thereby promoting North Korea-China relations. 

Against this backdrop, Wang, a diplomatic strategist and former professor of international politics at Fudan University, is surging up the ranks as a key figure in managing the situation on the Korean Peninsula. 

Wang met Kim during a visit to Pyongyang in July, which took place to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the signing of the China-DPRK Treaty of Friendship.