[Editorial] Rapprochement between China and North Korea helpful for establishing peace on Korean Peninsula

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju pose are shown with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan in this footage taken from Chinese state television on Mar. 28. (CCTV)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing on Mar. 25–27. It is the first summit meeting held by Kim, who has not met with any foreign heads of state since coming to power in 2012. It was a characteristically bold appearance by Kim, dismissing speculation that had sent his sister Kim Yo-jong as a special envoy as he had done during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February.

Kim’s visit can be viewed as a move to restore North Korea’s relationship with China, which had been at an all-time low. The two sides’ relationship had been in a deep slide as North Korea hastened its nuclear development program and China took part actively in US-led economic sanctions. Things were in a dire enough state that Chinese Communist Party International Liaison Department chief Song Tao was unable to meet with Kim when he visited Pyongyang last November as a special envoy for President Xi Jinping.

The rapid changes afoot on the Korean Peninsula meant that one of the two sides needed to move to mend their ties ahead of an anticipated inter-Korean summit in April and North Korea-US summit in May. The two leaders met at a moment when each needed the other.

Kim and Xi’s summit also signifies the North Korean leader’s first appearance on the international stage outside of North Korea ahead of the two scheduled summits with South Korea and the United States. Having never held talks with any foreign leader to date, Kim’s choice to meet with the leader of traditionally friendly China could be seen as a dry run for the two summits to come.

Kim also may have sensed the need for a supporter to trust and rely on as he awaits inter-Korean and North Korea-US summits that stand to bring major changes to the Korean Peninsula. With US President Donald Trump following his nomination of Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State with his choice of North Korea hawk John Bolton as White House National Security Advisor, Kim may have wanted to enter the US summit with China as a solid helper in addition to South Korea in its self-appointed role as mediator.

Kim may have further concluded that he needed to instill trust that Pyongyang’s friendly relationship with Beijing will not change even if some generous deal is made with Washington. Back in 2000, then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visited China for a summit with Chinese President Jiang Zemin ahead of the first inter-Korean summit. Kim Jong-un could be seen as following in his father’s footsteps this time as well.

For China’s part, restoring its traditionally friendly relationship with the North may have been just as necessary ahead of major potential changes on the Korean Peninsula. Fears had been growing in China that the country was on course to be left out of the discussions centering on South and North Korea and the US without playing a role in peninsula issues.

The restoration of North Korea and China’s relationship can be seen as a positive sign for South Korea. An active role from China is unavoidable if the denuclearization issue is to be resolved and a permanent peace regime established on the peninsula through the inter-Korean and North Korea-US summits. China’s solution isn’t much different from Seoul’s strategy for resolving Korean Peninsula issues.

As one of the signatories to the Armistice Agreement and the past chair nation working to achieve denuclearization of the peninsula and establishment of a peace regime at the Six-Party Talks, it is natural that China would be involved in addressing peninsula issues. It is fair to say the positive developments in North Korea-China relations are very likely to prove helpful in achieving that kind of peace regime. We look forward to Kim Jong-un and Xi Jinping’s summit contributing to resolving the main issues of achieving denuclearization and establishing peace.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju wave from their car during their visit to Beijing in this photo issued by Chinese state media on Mar. 28. (Xinhua)

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