A Hong Kong daily said that the higher status accorded to Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to North Korea may be a way of “giving more face” to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The South China Morning Post reported on Thursday that Xi’s trip is the first by a Chinese leader to be given the formal status of a “state visit”.

It said that previous trips by Chinese leaders have been officially classified as “friendly visits,” “official friendly visits,” “official visits” and “unofficial visits."

The paper noted that visits by North Korean leaders to China have been treated similarly, except for one by Kim Il-sung, North Korea's founder and the grandfather of the current leader, which was given the status of a full state visit in September 1982.

Denny Roy, senior fellow at the East-West Centre in Hawaii, said the status given to Xi's latest visit is perhaps to give more face to Kim Jong-un.

He noted this underscores the fact that Kim gained leverage with Beijing by getting U.S. President Donald Trump to agree to their first summit in Singapore.

Roy added it forced Xi to court Kim in order to ensure a new U.S.-North Korea relationship would not neglect China.

North Korean media said on Monday the Chinese leader will make a "state visit" Thursday and Friday.

President Xi also used this term in a piece he contributed to the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the North's ruling party, that was published Wednesday.

[Photo : YONHAP News]