SEOUL, South Korea -- Chinese President Xi Jinping praised North Korea for moving in the "right direction" by politically resolving issues on the Korean Peninsula in an essay published in both countries' official media Wednesday on the eve of Xi's visit to Pyongyang to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Xi had nothing to say on the biggest outside worry about North Korea -- stalled nuclear weapons talks between Washington and Pyongyang -- in the article published on the front page of North Korea's main newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, and by China's Xinhua news agency. But experts believe he could use his summit with Kim, which the North is calling a state visit, to endorse North Korean calls for an incremental disarmament process in which every action Pyongyang takes is met with U.S. concessions on sanctions and security issues.
Much of the article focused on lauding the neighbors' seven-decade relationship. Xi said his visit today and Friday will "strengthen strategic communication and exchange" between the traditional, though sometimes strained, allies. The nations fought together in the 1950-53 Korean War against the United States, South Korea and their allies, but there has been friction in recent years, especially over the North's relentless push for nuclear bombs.
Xi, who is locked in a bitter trade war with President Donald Trump, will likely meet with the U.S. leader at the G-20 meetings in Japan. He may try to use his summit with Kim as leverage by reminding Trump of Beijing's influence with Pyongyang, which could either help or disrupt the U.S.-North Korea diplomacy, experts say.
Kim also wants to strengthen his own position against Trump and is obviously seeking to cement China, the North's only major ally and economic lifeline, as a major player in the process.
"China supports how [North Korea] is maintaining the right direction to politically resolve the issues on the Korean Peninsula and supports efforts to find a solution [to serve North Korea's] rational interests through dialogue," Xi wrote in Rodong Sinmun.
Lee Sang-min, spokesman for Seoul's Unification Ministry, said the Rodong Sinmun op-ed wasn't the first a Chinese leader wrote in North Korean state media. The newspaper also published statements by former Chinese leaders Zhang Zemin and Hu Jintao when they visited the North in 2001 and 2005, respectively, the ministry said. Chinese state media has published essays from Xi ahead of his visits to other countries.
Nuclear negotiations between the United States and North Korea have been at a standstill since February when a summit between Kim and Trump collapsed over what the Americans described as excessive North Korean demands for sanctions relief in exchange for only a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities.
Kim has said he would seek a "new way" if the United States persists with sanctions and pressure against North Korea. The Trump administration has said sanctions will remain in place until the North commits to fully and verifiably relinquishing its nuclear and missile program upfront.
Kim met Xi four times in China last year during a diplomatic outreach that also included meetings with Trump, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Separately, South Korea said Wednesday that it plans to send 50,000 tons of rice to North Korea through the World Food Program in its second aid package announced in past weeks as it seeks to help with North Korean food shortages and improve bilateral relations.
South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul, Seoul's point man for North Korea, said his government will work with the U.N. agency to ensure that the food reaches North Korean people without delay. South Korea last week sent $8 million to the World Food Program and the United Nations Children's Fund for programs providing medical and nutritional aid for North Korean children and pregnant women.
U.N. agencies last month said that about 10 million people were facing "severe food shortages" after one of North Korea's worst harvests in a decade. Kim said South Korea will decide whether to provide more food aid after reviewing the outcome of the current assistance.
A Section on 06/20/2019