NK gives China bigger role in upcoming nuclear talks

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping toast during Xi's welcoming reception for Kim in Beijing, Monday. / Yonhap

By Kim Bo-eun

China's stance on North Korea is emerging as a crucial factor in reviving diplomacy over the North's nuclear weapons program following the summit between Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Kim's surprise visit to China raised both hopes and concerns among North Korea watchers. Their biggest concern is that China may reconsider sanctions it has imposed on the North, and this could possibly lead to the revival of Cold War rivalry ahead of Kim's summit with U.S. President Donald Trump slated for May.

Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) stated Wednesday the summit took place from Sunday through Monday in Beijing, after news reports speculated a high-level North Korean official, presumed to be Kim, was visiting China.

The KCNA reported Kim's visit to have taken place “to take the traditional North Korea-China friendship with long historical roots to a new, higher level according to the demands of a new era.”

It was Kim's first meeting with a foreign head of state, and also his first overseas diplomatic mission, since he took power in 2011.

The summit took place before the meetings arranged between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in April, and between Kim and Trump in May.

While Cheong Wa Dae remained quiet about the visit Monday and Tuesday, it said Wednesday the presidential office “received prior notification (from China) with regards to Kim's visit.” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the Chinese government had briefed the Trump administration about the visit Tuesday, according to the Washington Post.

“We forecast that Kim's statements and the dialogue between North Korea and China will exert a positive influence on North Korea's summits with the South and the U.S.,” a senior official at Cheong Wa Dae told reporters.

According to China's Xinhua News Agency, Wednesday, Kim said he made his first overseas visit to China to honor the friendship between the two nations.

“I believe my first meeting with General Secretary Xi Jinping will yield abundant fruits of the North Korea-China friendship and facilitate peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” Xinhua cited Kim.

Kim also reportedly spoke about the regime's willingness to denuclearize.

“It is our consistent stand to be committed to denuclearization on the peninsula, in accordance with the will of President Kim Il-sung and the late General Secretary Kim Jong-il,” he was quoted as saying by Xinhua. This echoes earlier remarks made by Kim in a meeting with South Korean envoys in Pyongyang.

“The issue of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula can be resolved if South Korea and the United States respond to our efforts with goodwill and create an atmosphere of peace and stability while taking progressive and synchronous measures for the realization of peace,” Kim was cited as saying at the summit.

Meanwhile, Xinhua reported Xi as stating that China shares the goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through dialogue.

According to the news agency, Xi pledged China will continue to play a constructive role in the issue and work with all parties including North Korea.

“It appears North Korea attained an opportunity to seek China's support _ this will give Pyongyang more weight in its summit with Washington,” Lee Tai-hwan, chief of Sejong Institute's Center of China Studies said.

“This is also in line with the wishes of China, which holds leverage over North Korea. It may have considered a Pyongyang-Washington summit without a prior meeting with Beijing as inappropriate.”

Still, Pyongyang's denuclearization will be in the hands of Washington, another analyst said.

“The keys Washington holds to resolving North Korea's nuclear issue accounts for 80 percent, while those of China account for 20 percent,” Kim Dong-yub, professor at Kyungnam University said.

“This is because sanctions and military threats that Pyongyang faces will only be resolved through Washington's lifting of the measures and normalizing relations with Pyongyang,” he said.

But Kim noted “China has become a player in the game. It may hold greater hidden keys than what it appears to have.”