We now have confirmation Chinese President Xi Jinping will NOT be visiting North Korea ahead of the regime's 70th founding anniversary. <br />The Chinese leader will send one of his right-hand men instead.<br />Lee Seung-jae has more. <br /> North Korea will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the regime's founding on Sunday,... but one V-VIP that won't be there.... is Chinese President Xi Jinping.<br />According to state media in both countries on Tuesday,... President Xi will instead send a high-level delegation led by Li Zhanshu, the Chairman of China's National People's Congress.<br />Li will travel to Pyongyang on Saturday, a day ahead of the celebrations, as President Xi's special envoy.<br />Li, considered the third most powerful official in China and President Xi's right-hand man,... will be the highest level Chinese official to visit North Korea since President Xi came to power in 2012.<br /> In recent weeks,... there had been speculation President Xi might attend the celebrations,... in what would have been his first visit to North Korea.<br />The Chinese leader has met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un three times this year,... but always in China.<br /> According to a former senior Chinese official,... President Xi might believe he has little to gain from such a visit.<br />With Pyongyang and Washington in a deadlock over how to proceed with their denuclearization talks,... the Chinese president would be put in an embarrassing position if the North's military parade includes nuclear-capable weaponry.<br />China has supported proposals encouraging Pyongyang to give up its nuclear arms.<br />A visit would've also risked angering the U.S.,... which is strongly urging Beijing to maintain "maximum" pressure on North Korea.<br /> With or without President Xi's attendance,... regional players, including China, are eager to see whether North Korea's military parade will include a display of intercontinental ballistic missiles.<br />Experts say their absence from the streets of Pyongyang on Sunday would signal to the world that North Korea might be serious about denuclearizing.<br />Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News. <br />
