Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping left Beijing on Tuesday morning for North Korea, the first leg of his visit to five Asian nations from June 17 to 25.

Xi will pay an official good-will visit to North Korea from June 17-19 at the invitation of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and  North Korean government.

Xi will also pay official visits to Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Yemen as invited by the Mongolian government, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz, the Crown Prince of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and Yemeni Vice President Abdal-rab Mansur al-Hadii.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, North Korean leaders will meet with Xi during his visit, exchanging views on bilateral ties and other issues of common concern, including the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Xi will also meet with leaders of the other four nations, conferring on ways to further facilitate bilateral cooperation in various areas, as well as international and regional issues of common concern.

(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2008)