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Bolivian President Evo Morales shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on June 19. (Xinhua News website)
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Schedule change for Bolivian president suggests strategic value of North Korean leader
Evidence has emerged that the Chinese government hurriedly adjusted the itinerary of another country’s leader to accommodate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s third visit to China on June 19 and 20. This hints at the strategic value that North Korea holds for China following the North Korea-US summit. The itinerary for Bolivian President Evo Morales, who paid a state visit to China at the same time as Kim, was pulled forward so that Morales could return home on the evening of June 19. Morales had arrived in China on June 18 and was supposed to depart on June 20, after spending three days in the country. Morales’ early return home was likely affected by Kim’s visit to China, observers say. After Morales’ departure on the evening of June 19, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang attended a welcome dinner for Kim, who had arrived in Beijing. Morales’ itinerary may have been curtained by cancelling a dinner with Xi that had been planned for that evening. Chinese state-run media had reported that Xi and Morales would be meeting but did not specify whether the two leaders would be sharing lunch or dinner. A spokesperson for Morales said that the Bolivian president had returned home early to participate in a traditional festival. In contrast, Xi dined with Kim on June 19 and then had another meeting and lunch with him on June 20. During a one-on-one meeting before a luncheon at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on June 20, Kim and Xi “discussed matters aimed at further strengthening strategic and tactical cooperation between our two parties and two countries under the new circumstances,” North Korea’s state-run Rodong Sinmun reported on June 21. If it is true that China’s leadership adjusted the itinerary of a state visit by Morales in order to set up a dinner with Kim, that raises the possibility that Kim’s visit had been scheduled abruptly and that China gave him special treatment. In contrast with Morales’ state visit, Kim’s visit was not described using modifiers such as “official” or “unofficial.” While Kim Jong-il’s seven visits to China and Kim Jong-un’s first two visits were referred to as “unofficial visits,” this most recent one was only described as a “visit.” There are thought to be several reasons that visits to China by North Korea’s supreme leader have hitherto been called “unofficial”: one is the unique nature of the two countries’ bilateral relations, which are oriented on inter-party relations, and another is the need to ensure the leader’s physical safety. When asked about this during the regular press briefing on June 19, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said that there were reasons for such descriptions but declined to provide any details. By Kim Oi-hyun, Beijing correspondent, and Noh Ji-won, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
