Kim’s trip shows China’s value in Korean diplomacy

Following this week’s surprise summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, worries surfaced that amid intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry, Beijing could use Pyongyang as a strategic lever to weaken worldwide sanctions in a way that would hamper denuclearization efforts.

Just how much is still open to debate, but the visit shows Kim Jong Un hasn’t forgotten his only major ally despite recent antipathy between the countries and bombshell announcements that the young North Korean leader will hold summits with his foes in Washington and Seoul.

Xi said positive changes had taken place on the Korean Peninsula since this year and China appreciated the important efforts made by North Korea.

US President Donald Trump tweeted that he looks forward to his upcoming meeting with Kim Jong-un, adding, however, that “unfortunately, maximum sanctions and pressure must be maintained at all cost” in the meantime.

The current talks follow a surprise meeting this week between Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

When asked whether such issues would shape the discussions between Kim and Moon, Cho said “yes”.

Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said Kim’s statement contains “a lot of loaded rhetoric” to “unpack”.

Bruce Bennett, a North Korea researcher with the RAND Corp., expects US negotiators to call for an all-out ban on North Korean enrichment capabilities or a very strict monitoring program, and if the North is forced to abandon the light-water reactor, it could demand to be paid for it.

Kim expects the U.S.to take “synchronous measures” in providing these concessions as the North agrees to take action-for-action steps, Manning said.

“China is saying to the United States and the rest of the world: Anyone who wants a deal on anything on the future of the Korean Peninsula, and certainly something which deals with nukes, don’t think you can walk around us, guys”, Kevin Rudd, former prime minister in Australia and someone on good terms with the current Chinese government, remarked earlier in Hong Kong.

The North’s conditions include the removal of a United States nuclear guarantee for South Korea, observers say.

Despite growing worries over the North’s denuclearization possibly being used by the US and China in competing for power in Asia, another analyst said that China’s involvement could help the North Korea-US summit to succeed, as denuclearizing the North is in China’s interest, too. “So I’m in a position of strength coming into this negotiation, ‘” Terry said. “By serious, they need to adhere to some global standards of verification”.

Xi said Kim’s current visit to China had come “at a special time” and was of great significance.

Separately, Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported on Thursday that US and Chinese officials had been holding talks to shield American soybeans and other agricultural products from trade sanctions. South Korean envoys then traveled to Washington to deliver Kim’s invitation to a U.S.

Chang’s big concern is that the new hawkish foreign policy voices in Trump’s cabinet will persuade him to attack North Korea.