[Editorial] NK Leader's China Visit and the Six Party Talks

North Korea's National Defence Commission Chairman Kim Jong Il is back in China. He was there in April 2004, and Chinese president Hu Jintao went to Pyongyang just 70 days ago, in late October 2005. His visit is even more notable because it comes amidst a period of uncertainty about whether the six party talks will continue while there are suspicions North Korea is counterfeiting dollars and with the United States applying financial sanctions against it.

There is something special about the relationship between the North and China. Korea has always had a unique relationship with the North, but China is the only country giving it substantial assistance. China is the model for the North's careful policies of reform and openness. In 2001 Kim visited Shanghai's Pudong district, and in 2004 he went and saw the development going on in Tianjin. This trip, too, it appears he will be touring evidence of Chinese reform and openness. The visit is also consistent with the North's New Year's message, in which it said that "reconstructing the people's economy" is one of its major strategies for 2005. One hopes that during his time in China he visits many places and becomes motivated to move towards more effective reform.

Of even more interest is the question of whether Kim's visit to Beijing will lead to a breakthrough in restarting the six party talks. Like the U.S., China, too, says that illegal activities such as counterfeiting dollars are an issue separate from the talks. However, since it is China that has jurisdiction over Macao's Banco Delta Asia, which has frozen North Korean financial transactions, it is China that needs to find a practical solution. About the facts that have already been established, the North needs to take corresponding action and in response China needs to lead the way in having the North's accounts unfrozen. As the host of the six party talks, of course, China must demand a more flexible approach from the U.S. and set a date for the talks to continue sooner than later.

If Kim Jong Il does not make the most of his time in China, both the talks and the North's plans to expand reforms could become difficult. The friendly relationship between China and North Korea will only mean half of what it used to if it does not lead to actual progress in the six party process. This is a most important time for the situation surrounding the Korean peninsula.

The Hankyoreh, 11 January 2006.

[Translations by Seoul Selection]