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North Korea’s Kim Jong Un visited China’s Xi, state media says

Phil Helsel — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 20:19:11 +0000

It is believed to be the dictator’s first foreign trip since he took power in 2011.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands in Beijing.Ju Peng / Xinhua, via AP

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to Beijing for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, state-run media in both countries reported early Wednesday.

It is believed to be Kim’s first foreign trip since he took power in 2011.

There had been speculation that Kim was spotted aboard a train in China’s capital on Tuesday.

China’s Xinhua news agency did not answer that question, but reported Wednesday that the North Korean dictator had met with Xi.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency also reported that Kim visited China from Sunday to Wednesday along with his wife, Ri Sol Ju. It cited North Korean state-run radio.

Xinhua called it an unofficial visit, adding that Xi held talks with Kim at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

China is North Korea’s neighbor and most important ally.

In a statement Tuesday night, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said: “The Chinese government contacted the White House earlier on Tuesday to brief us on Kim Jong Un’s visit to Beijing. The briefing included a personal message from President Xi to President Trump.”

She added: “The United States remains in close contact with our allies South Korea and Japan. We see this development as further evidence that our campaign of maximum pressure is creating the appropriate atmosphere for dialogue with North Korea.”

President Donald Trump and Kim have traded barbs for months over North Korean missile testsand its nuclear program.

Kim has repeatedly vowed to destroy South Korea along with the U.S., while Trump has threatened Pyongyang with “fire and fury.”

North Korea tested a total of 23 missiles last year, including 15 that were nuclear-capable. The November launch of which appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, flew farther than any of Kim’s previous tests. The North claimed it could reach anywhere in the mainland U.S.

Analysts say that based on the current evidence it’s hard to prove or debunk North Korea’s claim that it can now hit faraway American targets such as New York or Washington.

North Korea has said in public statements that it wants an official end to the Korean War. The conflict was halted by a 1953 armistice but no peace treaty has been signed. It also wants nothing short of full normalization of relations with the U.S. and to be treated with respect and as an equal in the global arena.

The Trump administration has encouraged China to use its influence to rein in Pyongyang. In September, China ordered North Korean-owned businesses to close and imposed limits on oil to North Korea.

The Beijing visit also comes ahead of a planned meeting with Trump

The United Nations also imposed tough new sanctions on North Korea last year. On Tuesday, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Russia and China can “do more” on North Korea.

Former deputy and acting CIA director John McLaughlin said on MSNBC earlier Tuesday that the reported visit highlights China’s nervousness about talks between South and North Korea, and not wanting to be left on the sidelines.

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/north-korea/north-korea-s-kim-jong-un-visited-china-state-media-n860596

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China ‘still a player’ on North Korea, despite Trump-Kim talks, Japanese official says

Teddy Ng — Mon, 26 Mar 2018 15:52:18 +0000

Peace and stability in Asia will top agenda at upcoming summit between Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul, former foreign minister says.

China still has a significant role to play on the North Korea nuclear issue, regardless of the planned talks between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to a former Japanese foreign minister.

The subject of Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions, as well as regional infrastructure development, is likely to be high on the agenda at an upcoming summit between China, South Korea and Japan, which is expected to be held in early May in Tokyo, Fumio Kishida told the South China Morning Post.

The meeting, which will be attended by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, comes amid some easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula, as a result of talks between the two Koreas and the planned dialogue between Kim and Trump.

When Washington and Pyongyang agreed to the leaders’ talks, it triggered concerns that Beijing’s role as a mediator between the two would be diminished.

Relations between the restive state and China, its sole ally and economic patron, have deteriorated sharply in recent years, with Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping still yet to hold official visits.

However, Kishida said that as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and North Korea’s main trading partner, China retained considerable leverage over Pyongyang.

“The most important item on the agenda [for the trilateral summit] is peace and stability in Asia, including the North Korea issue. This is the area where the three countries have to work together,” he said on the sidelines of an investment conference last week. “China’s influence over North Korea remains quite significant.”

China can take little credit for North Korea breakthroughs

The move by China, which accounts for more than 90 per cent of North Korea’s foreign trade, to ban imports of textiles and seafood, and exports of oil products from its secretive neighbour in compliance with United Nations sanctions was welcomed, Kishida said.

“China is taking proactive measures to implement the decisions of the United Nations. We welcome those efforts,” he said. “To solve the North Korea issue, China has to work together with the rest of the world.”

The China-Japan-South Korea summit was last held in November 2015, but was subsequently suspended as ties between the three countries deteriorated amid territorial disputes, grievances related to the second world war, Seoul’s deployment of a US-led anti-missile defence system, and a change of administration in South Korea.

Japan ‘pushes for summit’ with China and South Korea this year

Relations between China and Japan have since improved, and Xi met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the fringes of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam in November. A week later, Abe met Li at a regional summit in Manila.

Japanese officials said they hoped Abe and Xi could arrange reciprocal visits to one another’s countries after the trilateral summit.

Another agenda item for the upcoming summit will be infrastructure development in developing nations, Japanese diplomatic and trade sources said.

North Korea: fearing diplomatic sidelines, Japan explores possible meeting between Shinzo Abe and Kim Jong-un

Kishida said that China and Japan should cooperate to meet the region’s infrastructure requirements, but he expressed concerns about Xi’s pet “Belt and Road Initiative” and the Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank due to their lack of transparency. Japan is not directly involved in either.

“We want to monitor and pay attention to whether the AIIB actually complies with global standards in terms of governance.” he said. “We will consider what Japan can do to contribute based on that observation.”

Source: http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2138938/china-still-player-north-korea-despite-trump-kim-talks

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