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Message From China’s Leader, Xi Jinping, to North Korea May Signal Thaw Message From China’s Leader, Xi Jinping, to North Korea May Signal Thaw
(about 2 hours later)
BEIJING — Relations between China and North Korea showed some signs on Saturday of thawing after a deep chill, as President Xi Jinping of China sent a warm note to the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, and dispatched one of his most senior officials to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of Mr. Kim’s ruling party. BEIJING — Relations between China and North Korea showed some signs on Saturday of thawing after a deep chill, as President Xi Jinping of China sent a warm note to the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, and sent one of his most senior officials to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of Mr. Kim’s ruling party.
The official, Liu Yunshan, stood next to Mr. Kim during much of an elaborate military parade in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, and the two chatted frequently. Mr. Liu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese Politburo, is the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit the North since Mr. Kim rose to power in late 2011.The official, Liu Yunshan, stood next to Mr. Kim during much of an elaborate military parade in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, and the two chatted frequently. Mr. Liu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese Politburo, is the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit the North since Mr. Kim rose to power in late 2011.
Upon arriving in the North on Friday night for a four-day visit, Mr. Liu met with Mr. Kim and gave him Mr. Xi’s message, in a meeting that was widely covered in Chinese state media. In the message, Mr. Xi said he not only extended the congratulations of the Chinese Communist Party but sent his own personal good wishes. He hailed Mr. Kim for having achieved “positive progress in developing the economy, improving livelihoods, and so on.” Upon arriving on Friday night for a four-day visit, Mr. Liu met with Mr. Kim and gave him Mr. Xi’s message, in a meeting that was widely covered in Chinese state news media. In the message, Mr. Xi said he not only extended the congratulations of the Chinese Communist Party but sent his own personal good wishes. He hailed Mr. Kim for having achieved “positive progress in developing the economy, improving livelihoods, and so on.”
China is the isolated North’s only major ally, and Mr. Xi had seemed to establish a new distance between the countries soon after taking power in late 2012. He said that no country should be allowed to destabilize the Asian region or the world for “selfish gain,” a statement that was interpreted as a criticism of Mr. Kim’s nuclear weapons program.China is the isolated North’s only major ally, and Mr. Xi had seemed to establish a new distance between the countries soon after taking power in late 2012. He said that no country should be allowed to destabilize the Asian region or the world for “selfish gain,” a statement that was interpreted as a criticism of Mr. Kim’s nuclear weapons program.
China has signed on to United Nations sanctions meant to punish North Korea for its nuclear weapons program, and Mr. Kim was absent from China’s military parade in Beijing last month commemorating the end of World War II. The young North Korean leader has not visited China, or any other foreign country, since taking power in 2011. China has signed on to United Nations sanctions meant to punish North Korea for its nuclear weapons program, and Mr. Kim was absent from China’s military parade in Beijing last month commemorating the end of World War II. The young North Korean leader has not visited China, or any other country, since taking power in 2011.
Despite its concerns about the North’s nuclear program, China has not used its full economic leverage to discourage the North from pursuing it, apparently being more concerned about potential instability in the North that could spill into its territory. China’s economic largess keeps North Korea’s bare-bones economy afloat, but a debate has been roiling in the past year among Chinese military officials and academics over whether its ally is more an asset or a liability. Despite its concerns about the North’s nuclear program, China has not used its full economic leverage to discourage the North from pursuing it, apparently being more concerned about potential instability in the North that could spill into its territory. China’s economic largess keeps North Korea’s bare-bones economy afloat, but a debate has been roiling in the past year among Chinese military officials and academics over whether its ally is more a liability than an asset.
A Chinese expert on North Korea, Yang Xiyu, said that the tone of Mr. Xi’s letter to Mr. Kim was fairly standard for a message from Beijing to Pyongyang on the occasion of a major anniversary.A Chinese expert on North Korea, Yang Xiyu, said that the tone of Mr. Xi’s letter to Mr. Kim was fairly standard for a message from Beijing to Pyongyang on the occasion of a major anniversary.
“Such official wordings are always the same no matter whether the bilateral relationship is in good shape or bad shape,” said Mr. Yang, a senior fellow at the China Institute for International Studies. “It’s a routine action.” “Such official wordings are always the same no matter whether the bilateral relationship is in good shape or bad shape,” said Mr. Yang, a senior fellow at the China Institute of International Studies. “It’s a routine action.”
But John Delury, an associate professor of international studies at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, said Mr. Xi seemed to have used the military parade on Saturday — apparently the biggest celebration in the North since Mr. Xi took power — as an occasion to mend fences with the North, at least to a degree.But John Delury, an associate professor of international studies at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, said Mr. Xi seemed to have used the military parade on Saturday — apparently the biggest celebration in the North since Mr. Xi took power — as an occasion to mend fences with the North, at least to a degree.
“Xi’s letter marks the Chinese leader’s first real effort to make friends with Kim Jong-un,” Mr. Delury said. “The fulsome praise of the Kim dynasty is new for Xi, whose administration has sounded guarded, even irritated, in its language toward Pyongyang.”“Xi’s letter marks the Chinese leader’s first real effort to make friends with Kim Jong-un,” Mr. Delury said. “The fulsome praise of the Kim dynasty is new for Xi, whose administration has sounded guarded, even irritated, in its language toward Pyongyang.”
Mr. Delury noted that Mr. Xi’s letter did not mention denuclearization, in contrast with the message carried by China’s last high-level visitor to Pyongyang, Vice President Li Yuanchao, who in July 2013 tried to press North Korea to slow down its nuclear program. Mr. Li, who is not a member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo, ranks below Mr. Liu in the party’s hierarchy. Mr. Delury noted that Mr. Xi’s letter did not mention denuclearization, in contrast with the message carried by China’s last high-level visitor to Pyongyang, Vice President Li Yuanchao, who in July 2013 tried to press North Korea to slow down its nuclear program. Mr. Xi’s failure to mention denuclearization will disappointthose in Washington who believed that Beijing was coming around to their hard-line stance toward the North Korean leader, Mr. Delury said.
Mr. Xi’s failure to mention denuclearization will come as a disappointment to those in Washington who believed that Beijing was coming around to their hard-line stance toward the North Korean leader, Mr. Delury said.