On June 20, the day of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s arrival for a two-day visit, the North Korean party daily Rodong Sinmun published on its front page an editorial emphasizing “trust” — a word implying a higher-level relationship that the daily stopped short of using in its editorial commemorating Hu Jintao’s visit to Pyongyang in 2005, despite its positive characterization of the relationship.

This appears to be another move by the North to elevate the profile of Chinese President Xi’s visit and builds on the rare “state visit” status accorded to the Chinese leader’s visit on