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By APD writer Wang Baocai
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) top leader, Kim Jong Un, paid an unofficial visit to Beijing from Sunday to Wednesday and held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping weeks before his planned summits with U.S. and South Korean leaders.
His visit to China was the 34-year-old leader’s first foreign trip since he took power, and Xi was the first head of state who Kim met with.
China’s official television CCTV used 14 minutes to report the visit and Xinhua news agency released a statement with some 3400 Chinese words, which is rare in the reports of the Chinese state-owned media.
What signals have the reports sent?
Firstly, the relations between China and the DPRK were, are and will always be solid and special. The special ties can be traced to the World War II when DPRK founding father Kim II Sung led his troops to fight against the Japanese occupation. During the Korea War, Chinese People’s Volunteer Army helped Kim II Sung fight against the so-called United Nations troops. Even by now, no matter how other countries attempt to drive a wedge between the two countries, the bilateral tie remains unbreakable.
In recent years, this special tie was effected by the DPRK’s nuclear and missile programs, but the tie is still solid. Like his late father and predecessor Kim Jong Il, Kim came to China as his maiden visit abroad to show his country’s traditional friendship and solid relations with China.
Secondly, international situation is undergoing extensive and profound changes. At the end of last year, the relationship between the DPRK and the United States was once on the verge of war. But since the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Korean Peninsula situations eased rapidly and Kim, the 34-year-old leader, showed his diplomatic approaches to the whole world.
During his visit to China, Kim told the Chinese leader that he was open to dialogue with the United States, including a potential meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, and was committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The historic meeting is expected to change the geopolitics in Northeast Asia.
Thirdly, through visiting China, Kim came to seek confidence to help negotiate with Trump. For many years, The DPRK is a unique country that nearly closed to the outside world. If Kim wants to negotiate with Trump equally, coordinating with China will give Kim more confidence in the upcoming negotiations. Kim underlined that his visit is designed to strengthen the strategic cooperation with China.
Fourthly, China has conducted more effective diplomatic interactions on the international stage beyond imagination. In recent years, there was a view that Chinese diplomatic policy to the DPRK was wrong or failed. In fact, what Chinese diplomats did is much more than the public can imagine. Even Trump praised that China helped facilitate his meeting with Kim.
Last, there is a long way to achieve the denuclearization of the peninsula. It is obvious that Kim will offer his price during the negotiation with Trump. If Trump disagrees, where will Kim kick his ball?
Wang Baocai is an instructor of institute of Xi'an high & new tech. He has written about military equipment, operation, international relationship and geopolitics for multiple publications for many years.The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of APD.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
