 |
|
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and first lady Ri Sol-u pose for a commemorative photograph with Chinese President Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan during the welcome ceremony for Kim’s visit at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 19. The image is a snapshot taken from a China Central Television (CCTV) broadcast. (AP/Yonhap news)
|
North Korean leader apparently using diplomacy with Xi Jinping as leverage against US
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s surprise third visit to China is groundbreaking, whether viewed in terms of North Korea’s diplomatic practices or from the perspective of ordinary summit diplomacy. This is the first time that a North Korean leader has ever visited China three times in the space of three months. For the leader of one country to visit another country with such frequency is very rare in the history of summit diplomacy. This confirms that China-North Korea relations remain vital to each other amid the excitement about Kim’s summit with US President Donald Trump since March. Kim’s visit to China was covered on China’s state-run media that same day, and the summit’s massive pageantry – the kind seen in ordinary summit diplomacy – also reflects the two countries’ “confidence” in their relationship. The primary objective of Kim’s visit to Beijing appears to have been strengthening and coordinating North Korea and China’s bilateral relations in connection with Kim and Trump’s summit. Even though China has consistently supported the improvement of North Korea-US relations, it has been touchy about the establishment of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, which was proposed in the Panmunjeom Declaration by the leaders of South and North Korea. The declaration said, “During this year that marks the 65th anniversary [July 27] of the Armistice, South and North Korea agreed 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[, converting the armistice agreement into a peace treaty] and establishing a permanent and solid peace regime.” This has led the Chinese media to raise concerns that China could be edged out by the US in formally ending the Korean War and on establishing a peace regime. Some analysts have responded by concluding that North Korea is attempting to apply the equidistant diplomatic approach it used with China and the Soviet Union during the Cold War to China and the US today. But Kim’s visiting China at every bump in the road to his summit with Trump suggests not so much equidistant diplomacy as that Kim is attempting to exploit his solid relationship with China as leverage in diplomacy with the US. And China has welcomed Kim’s overtures. On June 12, the day of the Kim-Trump summit, China’s Foreign Ministry called for the easing of UN Security Council sanctions to correspond to North Korea moving forward with denuclearization. China has also boasted that its proposals for a “double freeze” (simultaneously suspending North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests and South Korea and the US’s large-scale military exercises) and “two-track progress” (moving forward on denuclearization and the conversion to a peace regime at the same time) have been bearing fruit. During a press conference shortly after his summit with Kim, Trump abruptly announced the halting of South Korea-US joint military exercises and made remarks acknowledging that China would be a party to declaring the end of the Korean War and signing a peace treaty. “This means that North Korea and the US have discussed China’s role, and North Korea has made China an active participant. If things go well, I think that China might submit a proposal to the UN Security Council to ease sanctions on the North,” said Koo Kab-woo, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies. Kim made the following remarks during his summit with Xi: “North Korea is grateful to China and thinks highly of the important role that China has played in the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and in protecting peace and stability. We will work with China and other related countries to build a firm and lasting peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.” Xi responded by emphasizing that “China’s support for socialist Korea will never change.” Kim enthusiastically recognized China’s role on the Korean Peninsula, and Xi guaranteed China’s support for the North. Economic cooperation with China appears to be another important agenda item. “If this was about explaining the Kim-Trump summit, Kim could have sent a low-level official to China. The apparent reason he went himself was to get a guarantee about large-scale economic cooperation. A Chinese guarantee for economic cooperation and a vision for economic development also strengthens Kim’s negotiating positions vis-à-vis Japan,” said Cho Sung-ryul, a senior research fellow for the Institute for National Security Strategy. “There is intelligence that Kim passed through Beijing to Changchun, where he is visiting local sites and discussing cooperation with China,” a source said. In connection with this, Xi said he was “happy to see North Korea make the crucial decision to shift its focus to building the economy” and expressed his “support for developing the North Korean economy and improving the lives of its people.” By Jung E-gil, senior staff writer, and Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
