North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in China for a two-day visit on Tuesday, a week after his historic summit with Donald Trump.

The visit is his third to China since March and comes as Pyongyang seeks China's help in easing hard-hitting sanctions which were rolled out last year in response to the regime's build-up of nuclear weapons.

Kim is expected to brief Chinese president Xi Jinping on his discussions with Mr Trump, who announced last week that joint US-South Korea military would end - bolstering China's position in the region.

China, meanwhile, will be seeking to use North Korea as a bargaining chip amid heightened trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, observers say.

"Trump has approved tariffs against China, so it is time for China to play the North Korea card to deal with America," said Deng Yuwen, an international relations expert and senior researcher at the Charhar institute in Beijing.