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Kim Jong-un paid 'unofficial' visit to Beijing, Chinese state media confirms Kim Jong-un paid 'unofficial' visit to Beijing, Chinese state media confirms
(about 1 hour later)
South Korea and Chinese media have confirmed speculation that the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, has visited China. It was Kim’s first known visit to a foreign country since he took power after his father’s death in late 2011. China has confirmed that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited Beijing, where he met Chinese president Xi Jinping and pledged commitment to denuclearising the Korean peninsula.
China’s official Xinhua News Agency said on Wednesday that Kim made an unofficial visit to Beijing and met with President Xi Jinping at the Chinese leader’s request. Confirming several reports over the last two days, Xinhua state news agency said that Kim had been in China on an “unofficial visit” from Sunday to Wednesday.
During the visit, which had been cloaked in secrecy, Xi held talks with Kim at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and he and his wife Peng Liyuan hosted a banquet for Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, Xinhua said. They also watched an art performance together, the news agency said. According to Xinhua, Kim told Xi that the “situation on the Korean peninsula” is “starting to get better,” noting that his country has made efforts to “ease tensions and put forward proposals for peace talks.”
Xinhua published a photograph of Kim and Xi shaking hands in front of the flags of the two nations. “It is our consistent stand to be committed to denuclearisation on the peninsula, in accordance with the will of late President Kim Il-sung and late General Secretary Kim Jong-il,” he said, according to Xinhua.
Analysts say Kim would have felt a need to consult with his country’s traditional ally ahead of his planned meetings with the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, and US president, Donald Trump. After years of provocations and missile tests, Pyongyang has made an unexpected effort in diplomacy. Kim is expected to meet with South Korean president Moon Jae-in in April and hold a summit with US president Donald Trump in May.
Analysts had earlier suggested Beijing had been sidelined by Pyongyang’s approaches to Seoul and Washington, but Kim’s visit puts China firmly back at the centre of the diplomatic scrum. “This is a positive political signal that Pyongyang is ready for more dialogue,” said Michael Kovrig, senior advisor for North East Asia at the International Crisis Group, an independent conflict-prevention organisation.
“Both Comrade Chairman and I have personally experienced and witnessed the development of China-DPRK relationship,” Xi said, using the initials for North Korea’s official name. “But the challenge will be creating the trust and conditions under which Kim would actually feel secure enough to denuclearise, while remaining vigilant on proliferation and deterrence. That won’t be easy.”
“This is a strategic choice and the only right choice both sides have made based on history and reality ... This should not and will not change because of any single event at a particular time.”
CCTV confirms Kim Jong-un met with Xi Jinping in Beijing. Wives also met. Kim reaffirmed willingness to meet with Trump, praised Xi as the “core” of the CCP of course. pic.twitter.com/v6HuL7DR8OCCTV confirms Kim Jong-un met with Xi Jinping in Beijing. Wives also met. Kim reaffirmed willingness to meet with Trump, praised Xi as the “core” of the CCP of course. pic.twitter.com/v6HuL7DR8O
The North’s diplomatic outreach came after an unusually provocative year when it conducted its most powerful nuclear test to date and three ICBMs tests designed to target the US mainland. The visit by Kim to Beijing marks the North Korean leader’s first trip to China since coming to power in 2011, as well as his first state visit. Kim had not been invited to Beijing nor had he met Chinese president Xi Jinping before now.
The developments were interpreted as the North being desperate to break out of isolation and improve its economy after being squeezed by heavy sanctions. Analysts believe China is eager not to be sidelined in any talks between North Korea and the US as well as with South Korea.
China remains North Korea’s only major ally and chief provider of energy, aid and trade that keep the country’s broken economy afloat. China is North Korea’s closest ally, having fought with North Korea against the South during the Korean War, but relations have been strained as China has supported international sanctions against Pyongyang for its nuclear programme.
The visit to China marks Kim’s first known trip since taking power in 2011 and his reported meeting with Xi was his first meeting with a foreign head of state. China accounts for more than 90% of North Korea’s overall trade and also provides food aid and energy assistance to Pyongyang. North Korea’s black market of electronics, fuel, and other goods comes mostly from China.
Kim’s father, late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, visited China several times during his rule, lastly in May 2011, months before his death. Describing the visit as his “solemn duty,” Kim said, according to North Korea’s state news agency, KCNA. “There is no question that my first foreign visit is to the Chinese capital.”
Past visits by Kim Jong-il to China were surrounded in secrecy, with Beijing only confirming his presence after he had crossed the border by train back into North Korea. The visit was shrouded in secrecy. On Sunday, the appearance of a train similar to one used by Kim’s father when he visited China in 2011 sparked speculation that the younger Kim could be in China. Past visits by North Korean leaders were not confirmed by China or North Korea until the dignitary had left the country.
Under Kim, the annual frequency of high-level exchanges has been low, compared to visits during the tenure of former Chinese leader Hu Jintao and Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il according to an analysis of state visits by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies’s project, Beyond Parallel.
Kovrig cautions that Kim’s talk of denuclearisation should be seen an expression of long-term political intent.
“It’s highly unlikely North Korea would abandon its nuclear deterrent without significant changes in its relationship with the US and the regional security situation.”
In Beijing, Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, met Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan where they attended a banquet and watched an art performance.
“We speak highly of this visit,” Xi told Kim, according to Xinhua.
Kim Jong-unKim Jong-un
ChinaChina
Asia PacificAsia Pacific
North KoreaNorth Korea
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