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Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Beijing on June 19, 2018. (AP/Yonhap News)
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Chinese head of state will visit Pyongyang for first time in 14 years
Chinese President Xi Jinping will be visiting North Korea as a guest of the state on June 20–21, which coincides with the 70th anniversary of North Korea and China establishing diplomatic relations. It is the first North Korea visit by a Chinese head of state in 14 years. While the visit is to be a relatively short two days, observers are expecting it to be an occasion for domestically and internationally confirming the complete restoration of the two sides’ ties following three summits in March, May, and June of last year and one this past January. There had been discussions of Xi’s visit before. During his fourth China visit last January, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un asked Xi to officially visit North Korea at a “convenient time,” which Xi “readily agreed” and “provided notice of plans” to do, North Korean and Chinese state-run media reported at the time. In January, the two leaders agreed to “strengthen mutual exchange and strategic cooperation for the 70th anniversary of our diplomatic relations.” Indeed, the two sides have engaged in ongoing exchange and cooperation activities of various kinds this year. In addition to active official exchange efforts in different government sectors to commemorate the 70th anniversary, local governments have also reportedly been examining reciprocal visits and different cooperation projects. North Korea-China relations previously went through a chilly period after Xi came to power in 2012. Beijing expressed open displeasure over Pyongyang focusing on nuclear and missile development as part of its “two-track course” of developing the economy and a nuclear program. At the same time, China took care to manage matters to prevent the Korean Peninsula situation from lurching too far into crisis. When the peninsula’s crisis was reaching its peak in 2017 following successive nuclear and missile tests by the North, China responded with a proposal of a North Korea’s halt to nuclear and missile testing in exchange for a suspension of South Korea-US joint military exercises. The complete restoration of North Korea-China relations came about through a surprise China visit in March 2018 by Kim Jong-un. The resulting summit took place just ahead of an inter-Korean summit that April, while two others were held around the first-ever North Korea-US summit in June. Kim also visited China for a summit with Xi in January of this year ahead of a second North Korea-US summit in February – suggesting that it has become a fixed practice for the two sides to meet together ahead of diplomatic events that stand to have a major influence on the political situation. Analysts have suggested China has been unable to play a proactive role in North Korea-US talks to date because of the burden posed by its intensifying trade war with the US. Observers are now watching to see whether North Korea and China will be able to come up with a way of resolving the current stalemate in North Korea-US talks through Xi’s visit. By Jung In-hwan, Beijing correspondent Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
