Pyongyang uses Beijing as negotiation leverage
A limousine presumably carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un leaves Beijing Capital International Airport, Tuesday, when Kim visited the country to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. / Yonhap
By Kim Rahn
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's third visit to China may be aimed at seeking China's economic support and advice on his denuclearization deal with the U.S., experts said Tuesday.
China can also have a stronger say in the Korean Peninsula and denuclearization issues by having an image as the North's patron, they said.
Kim headed for Beijing Tuesday morning for a two-day visit, which includes bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. It was the two leaders' third meeting in three months, with the first one in late March and the second in early May, displaying the strong bond between the traditional allies.
Kim may have briefed Xi on his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump and they may have coordinated their joint strategy in denuclearization negotiations with the U.S. By doing so, Kim can get China's support in relieving international sanctions against the regime, and Xi can expand China's influence in the denuclearization process and the rapidly changing diplomacy surrounding the peninsula.
“Kim went to China to express gratitude toward Chinese support for the Washington-Pyongyang summit, such as lending its presidential plane, and take initiative in the future negotiations by strategizing with China,” Asan Institute for Policy Studies senior fellow Shin Beom-chul said.
Korea National Diplomatic Academy professor Kim Hyun-wook called the visit “North Korean-style diplomatic balance.”
“Kim seeks to make various benefits by taking advantage of the denuclearization process following his summit with Trump. He will aim to get economic support from China and use Chinese support as leverage in his deal with the U.S.,” he said.
Analysts also say Kim may seek China's direct economic support or Xi's influence on the international community to relieve sanctions in exchange for denuclearization of his regime. After the Trump-Kim summit, China called for sanctions relief.
Kim's visit can also make China an important party to denuclearization. China has been concerned with being sidelined in the process, as the two Koreas and the U.S. were talking about declaring an end to the Korean War without inviting China.
While Chinese media reported Kim's two previous visits to China after Kim returned to Pyongyang, this time they reported the third visit right upon his arrival in Beijing. The change may be aimed at portraying North Korea as a “normal state.”
In the meantime, North Korea has reached out to Russia as well.
Kim Yong-nam, chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly and the nominal head of North Korea, visited Russia recently to attend the opening ceremony of the World Cup. He met Putin and delivered a letter from Kim to the Russian president, who invited Kim Jong-un to the country for the Eastern Economic Forum to be held in September.