A Chinese online news outlet based in the U.S. says North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed in a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping that he wishes to visit China before September.

Citing a source, Duowei News said those words were included in the letter delivered to the Chinese president on Friday by Kim's special envoy Choe Ryong-hae, who is director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army.

The report said China did not give a clear response to the North Korean leader's request.

The special envoy's visit to China was believed to serve several purposes, including arranging Kim Jong-un's future visit and filling China in on the series of military actions Pyongyang took in recent days. Choe also apparently made the trip to express consent to resume the six-party nuclear talks.

The news outlet says Kim Jong-un has placed top priority on restoring strained North Korea-China ties to the previous level of a steadfast blood alliance, and that he plans to defuse all the unpleasantness in bilateral relations once and for all by making a visit to Beijing.