Kim returns to China for more talks with Xi

CHINESE President Xi Jinping met Kim Jong Un, leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in Dalian on Monday and yesterday — just a few weeks after Kim’s historic visit to Beijing in March.

Xi hosted a welcome banquet for Kim. Together, they also took a stroll and attended a luncheon. Dalian, in northeast China’s Liaoning Province, is beautiful in May, with its lush mountains, blue seas and drifting clouds.

In a friendly atmosphere, the two leaders had an all-round and in-depth exchange of views on China-DPRK relations and major issues of common concern, officials said.

“Comrade Chairman made a special trip to China to meet me again just after 40-odd days,” said Xi, who is also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Kim, who is the DPRK’s chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea and chairman of the State Affairs Commission, has come at a crucial time when the Korean Peninsula situation is undergoing profound and complex changes, Xi added.

This embodies the importance that Kim and the WPK Central Committee have attached to the relations between the two parties and the two countries, and to their strategic communication. “I speak highly of it,” Xi said.

“After the first meeting between me and Comrade Chairman, both China-DPRK relations and the Korean Peninsula situation have made positive progress,” he added.

Xi said he was willing to meet Kim again to make joint efforts to push the healthy and stable development of China-DPRK relations, realize long-lasting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and promote regional peace, stability and prosperity.

Kim said both the DPRK-China friendship and the Korean Peninsula situation have undergone meaningful progress since March. “These are the positive outcomes of the historic meeting between me and Comrade General Secretary,” he said.

At a crucial time when the regional situation is developing rapidly, Kim said he came to China again to meet Xi and inform him of the situation, hoping to strengthen strategic communication and cooperation with China, deepen DPRK-China friendship, and promote regional peace and stability.

Xi said that when he and Kim held their first meeting in Beijing in March, they had a long and in-depth communication, and reached principled consensus in four aspects on developing China-DPRK relations in the new era.

First, the China-DPRK traditional friendship has been a treasure of both countries. It is the only correct choice for both countries to develop the friendly and cooperative ChinaDPRK relations.

Second, both China and the DPRK are socialist countries, and their bilateral relations are of major strategic significance. Both sides need to enhance unity, cooperation, exchanges and mutual learning.

Third, high-level exchanges between the two parties play an irreplaceably significant role in guiding bilateral relations, Xi said. The two sides should maintain frequent exchanges, strengthen strategic communication, deepen understanding and mutual trust, and safeguard common interests.

Fourth, cementing the peopleto-people friendship foundation is an important channel to advance the development of China-DPRK relations, Xi said. The two sides should enhance people-to-people communication and exchanges to create a sound foundation of popular will for the advancement of China-DPRK relations.

Xi said that with concerted efforts of both sides, all of these consensuses are being implemented. Within a period of more than one month, he and Kim have met twice and they have been keeping in close contact, Xi said.

He added he is willing to work together with Kim to continue to guide relevant departments of the two sides to soundly implement the consensuses they have reached, promote the continuous advancement of China-DPRK relations, benefit the two countries and two peoples, and make positive contributions to the peace and stability of the region.

Xi also thanked Kim for his great attention and earnest attitude demonstrated after a major road accident in the DPRK which resulted in casualties of the two countries’ citizens.

Kim said comrade-like trust and friendship between the elder generations of leaders of the two parties and countries form the close bond and solid foundation for the traditional friendship between the DPRK and China.

“Comrade General Secretary and I have carried on this fine tradition to hold the historic meeting with fruitful outcomes, and promoted the unprecedentedly vigorous development of the DPRK-China relations,” he said.

Kim said he believes his second meeting with Xi will deepen mutual trust and push the friendly and cooperative DPRKChina relationship to achieve an even closer and comprehensive development in line with the demands of the new era.

Concerning the Korean Peninsula, Xi said he and Kim fully exchanged views and reached important consensus during their first meeting, adding that Kim has recently made active efforts to promote dialogue and easing of tension on the peninsula with constructive progress being made.

China to play active role

He noted that with joint efforts from relevant parties, the momentum of dialogue and alleviation of tension on the peninsula is being consolidated in the direction that is conducive to a political solution.

China supports the DPRK’s adherence to the denuclearization of the peninsula, and backs the dialogue and consultation between the DPRK and the United States for resolving the peninsula issue, Xi said.

“China is willing to continue to work with all relevant parties and play an active role in comprehensively advancing the process of peaceful resolution of the peninsula issue through dialogue, and realizing longterm peace and stability in the region,” he said.

Speaking highly of Xi’s vision and wisdom, Kim expressed his gratitude to China for its long-standing and significant contribution to realizing denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and safeguarding peace and stability in the region. It has been the DPRK’s consistent and clear stand to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Kim said. As long as relevant parties abolish their hostile policies and remove security threats against the DPRK, there is no need for the DPRK to be a nuclear state and denuclearization can be realized, he said.

Kim expressed the hope that the DPRK and the US would build mutual trust through dialogue, and that relevant sides would take phased and synchronous measures in a responsible manner so as to comprehensively advance the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue and eventually achieve denuclearization and lasting peace on the peninsula.

Kim briefed Xi on the latest developments and Party building in the DPRK.

Xi said the Third Plenary Meeting of the Seventh WPK Central Committee advanced a strategic line of concentrating all efforts on socialist economic construction.

The committee also announced the decision to discontinue nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic rocket test-fire and dismantle its northern nuclear test ground, which shows the importance Kim attaches to developing the DPRK economy and improving people’s livelihoods and the determination to safeguard regional peace and stability.

China appreciates the move and supports the DPRK in shifting its strategic focus to economic construction and the DPRK comrades in taking a development path suitable to their own national situation, Xi said.