China seeks role in N Korea diplomacy
SEOUL: China’s foreign minister arrived in North Korea’s capital on Wednesday and could meet with leader Kim Jong Un while trying to ensure a larger role for Beijing in the new round of nuclear diplomacy with Pyongyang that had been driven by Seoul and Washington.
Wang Yi’s visit came days after Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in vowed to work toward the “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula, though they did not mention specific plans or timetables.
They also agreed to work toward formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War and push for three-way talks with Washington or four-way talks that also include Beijing to do so. The Koreas can’t officially end the war themselves because South Korea wasn’t a direct signatory to the armistice that stopped the fighting but left the peninsula technically in a state of war.
Analysts say Kim would have asked China, North Korea’s only major ally and main economic lifeline, to soften its enforcement of sanctions aimed at the North. Kim also may have sought Chinese commitments to oppose any military measure the US might take should his talks with Trump fall apart and the North starts testing missiles again.
S KOREA MAY FINANCE INTER-KOREA PROJECTS
South Korea’s finance minister said on Wednesday the government was discussing how to finance possible economic projects with North Korea, although any projects with Pyongyang must first be approved by the international community.
“We’re internally carrying out preparations, in terms of what to prepare, and how to cooperate with the international community, and how to finance (possible inter-Korea projects),” Kim Dong-yeon said.AGENCIES