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EDKim's third China visit

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Beijing should not give wrong signal to North

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's third visit to China is seen as a diplomatic effort to maximize his country's interests in the denuclearization and peace making process. The visit comes a week after Kim held a historic summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore.

It is rare for the leader of the reclusive country to visit China, let alone for a third time in such a short period. Kim's first trip was in late March after he offered to hold the summit with Trump. The second one took place in early May, following the April 27 inter-Korean summit.

His latest visit to Beijing from Tuesday to Wednesday was aimed at explaining the outcome of the Singapore summit to Chinese President Xi Jinping. Kim expressed thanks for Xi's support for the North's position on denuclearization. It was also intended to seek China's help in follow-up nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington.

The frequent Kim-Xi summits could contribute to achieving the complete denuclearization of the North and settling a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. We welcome Xi saying China is willing to continue playing a positive role to promote the peace process. His remarks should not end up only as diplomatic rhetoric; they must be translated into action.

Beijing does not want to be sidelined by the ongoing detente among Seoul, Pyongyang and Washington. Thus, Kim's visits have provided a rare opportunity for China to play a certain role on inter-Korea issues and exercise influence over the North's denuclearization and the peace process. No doubt Beijing wants to stake a claim in its client state.

China has emerged as the biggest winner from the Kim-Trump summit in which the U.S. and the North virtually adopted Beijing's "freeze for freeze" formula. Following President Trump's promise, Seoul and Washington officially announced the suspension of joint military exercises to accommodate Pyongyang's demand for a security guarantee. China has also called for the North's denuclearization and the signing of a peace treaty, replacing the armistice accord, to officially end the 1950-53 Korean War.

On the part of North Korea, Kim is apparently using better ties with China as leverage in the ongoing negotiations with the U.S. He wants to get Chinese support for a phased and reciprocal denuclearization so he can extract more concessions from the U.S. Furthermore, Kim is also trying to get Beijing to ease international sanctions. Some media reports said China is moving to resume cross-border trade with the North.

In this context, worries are growing that China might send the wrong signal to the North, which has yet to take any concrete action to dismantle its nuclear and missile programs verifiably and irreversibly. The suspension of the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise may only weaken the Seoul-Washington alliance. Thus, the South and the U.S. should make all-out efforts to avoid past mistakes and ensure the complete denuclearization of the North in subsequent talks with Pyongyang.







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