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By Yi Whan-woo
Chinese President Xi Jinping's planned visit to North Korea next month, which was reported Sunday, is expected to provide a watershed moment in negotiations over denuclearizing the North, according to analysts.
Xi's visit could make a breakthrough in the stalled denuclearization talks, but at the same time could make Washington uneasy because it believes Xi is exerting influence on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Anyway, Xi's Pyongyang trip may put pressure on the U.S. that has insisted on denuclearization first before complying with the North's call to declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War.
The analysts pointed out that the Kim's regime may play hardball against the U.S. again as witnessed in the aftermath of the past summits between Kim and Xi.
"And this is why Xi's September visit could be an extreme burden for the U.S." said An Chan-il, head of the World Institute for North Korea Studies. "You don't want denuclearization dialogue to lose momentum, and in that regard, Xi certainly holds the key."
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, voiced a similar view.
"The U.S. has been refusing to declare the end of the Korean War, although it is a stepping stone for a peace agreement demanded by both North Korea and China," he said. "Under such circumstances, Xi's trip will make the U.S. look very uncooperative toward peace on the Korean Peninsula, he said.
Yang also said the U.S. policy on North Korea may appear as if it is "going against the spirit of the United Nations" regarding sanctions imposed on Pyongyang.
"It's true that both the U.S. and U.N. are imposing sanctions on North Korea. But it should not be interpreted that the U.N. wants to press Pyongyang until denuclearization is fully achieved," he said.
"Xi's trip can be a turning point for the U.N to become lenient toward North Korea. Under such circumstances, it will be Washington, not Pyongyang that will be accused of disobeying the spirit of the U.N, if the former clings onto denuclearization regardless of circumstances."
Meanwhile, Kim lambasted international sanctions on his country for the second time in a week during his visit to a construction site in Samjiyon County, according to the (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Sunday.
"The hostile forces' persistent sanctions and obstructive moves come as a serious setback to the advance of our socialism," Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA. "But the zeal of the elated people who rose up like a mountain in response to the party's call is making a history of legendary miracles despite the most difficult conditions"
His criticism came after he said the sanctions were imposed by "hostile" forces during his inspection last week of the Wonsan-Kalma tourist complex under construction on the North' s eastern coast.
"Such a huge and grand creation campaign as the construction of the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist area is an acute standoff with hostile forces trying to stifle the Korean people through brigandish sanctions and a blockade" he said.
The U.S. has been maintaining sanctions on the North despite denuclearization talks in line with Kim's summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in June.
