<Anchor> The



Olympics are also a place where the international diplomatic landscape is revealed. Ahead of the opening today (4th), Russian President Putin visited Beijing and held a summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Beijing Connect.



Correspondent Ji-Sung Kim, what kind of story was told between the leaders of China and Russia?



<Reporter>



Yes, President Xi Jinping had a summit meeting on the afternoon of the 4th with Russian President Putin, who was visiting to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics.



President Xi has been avoiding meeting with foreign officials since the outbreak of COVID-19, but this is the first face-to-face summit in over two years.



The two leaders were originally scheduled to hold a meeting over a luncheon, but the meeting was shortened as President Putin arrived in Beijing later than expected.



At the meeting, they exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine and North Korea's missile launches, and urged the cessation of NATO's expansion.



North Korea, which did not participate in the Olympics, sent a congratulatory message in the name of General Secretary Kim Jong-un instead, praising the Winter Olympics as another great victory achieved by China.



<Anchor>



Earlier, some Western countries, including the United States, declared diplomatic boycotts. How many leaders are attending today's opening ceremony?



<Reporter> About



20 heads of state and top officials from various countries, including President Putin, will attend the opening ceremony.



Most of the countries in Central Asia and South America are traditional allies of China.



Compared to the 90 or so people who attended the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the number has significantly decreased.



In Korea, National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok attended the opening ceremony, and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Korean Table Tennis Association President Yoo Seung-min took part in the torch relay as IOC executives of the International Olympic Committee.



At the opening ceremony to be held shortly after, President Xi Jinping is expected to declare the opening personally, and China is planning to show off its quarantine capabilities and excellence through the Olympics.



(Video coverage: Choi Duk-hyun, video editing: Lee Seung-yeol)