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North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho (left) shakes hands with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the 24th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila, Philippines, in June 2017. (AP)
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Denuclearization and peace regime likely topics of discussion
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is visiting North Korea on May 2–3. Wang appears likely to receive a report from Pyongyang on the outcome of the Apr. 27 inter-Korean summit. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said on Apr. 30 that Wang “will be visiting North Korea from May 2 to 3,” adding that the visit “is taking place at the invitation of North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho.” During his visit, Wang appears likely to discuss the “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula agreed upon at the Apr. 27 summit and the matter of adopting a peace regime in place of the armistice system. In their Panmunjeom Declaration, the South and North Korean leaders announced plans to “actively pursue trilateral meetings involving the two Koreas and the United States, or quadrilateral meetings involving the two Koreas, the United States and China with a view to declaring an end to the war and establishing a permanent and solid peace regime” during the year. As a direct party to the Korean War, China’s consent and cooperation are essential if Seoul and Pyongyang are to end the conflict and sign a peace agreement. With the decision for Wang’s visit, China adopted a surface approach of receiving notifications on the summit outcome from North Korea rather than South Korea. Wang has been in contact with Ri numerous times of late, including a meeting with him during an Apr. 3 visit to Beijing. Wang’s visit to North Korea will be his first since taking over as Foreign Minister in 2013. Bilateral matters between North Korea and China also appear likely to be addressed during Wang’s visit, including a return visit to North Korea by Chinese President Xi Jinping (following North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s surprise visit in March). But some observers suggested the issue may not be raised, as China’s relations with the North have traditionally been considered “party-to-party matters” to be addressed by the Communist Party’s International Liaison Department (ILD). Some have predicted Xi could visit North Korea following the upcoming North Korea-US summit, which appears likely to take place in May. North Korea-China relations have been in a deep freeze since Kim and Xi respectively took power in 2012. The reasons include North Korea’s series of nuclear tests, the emergence of calls for Beijing to assume a greater role in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, and the compromising of China’s strategic interests due to South Korea’s deployment of the THAAD missile defense system, among other factors. But their relationship appears to have regained its normal footing since Kim’s unexpected visit to China in late May. On Apr. 15, ILD director Song Tao visited Pyongyang and met with Kim as head of a Chinese artists’ group delegation. By Kim Oi-hyun, Beijing correspondent Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
