Chinese diplomat to visit North Korea as Xi envoy

BEIJING: A senior Chinese diplomat will visit North Korea from tomorrow as a special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Beijing said, although it did not say he was planning to discuss North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic programmes.

China has repeatedly pushed for a diplomatic solution to the crisis but in recent months has held only limited high-level exchanges with North Korea.

The last time China’s special envoy visited North Korea was in February last year.

In a brief dispatch, the official Xinhua news agency said Song Tao, who heads the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s external affairs department, would leave for North Korea tomorrow. He would “inform the DPRK of the 19th CPC national congress and visit the DPRK”, Xinhua said yesterday, using the North’s official name and referring to China’s recently concluded Communist Party congress at which Xi further cemented his power.

North Korea’s KCNA news agency confirmed the visit, however, said only that it would take place “soon”.

The trip would come a week after US President Donald Trump visited Beijing as part of a lengthy Asia tour, where he pressed for greater action to rein in North Korea, especially from China, with which North Korea does 90% of its trade.

It is not clear how long Song could stay.

However, he has already visited Vietnam and Laos to inform them of the results of the congress, a typical courtesy that China extends other communist countries after such important meetings.

It is also unclear whether Song will meet North Korea’s youthful leader Kim Jong-un.

Song’s “main objective” in going to North Korea was to “report on the 19th party congress”, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said.

The two countries would also “exchange opinions on matters of mutual concern” during the visit, Geng added.

He reiterated that China was committed to resolving the Korean nuclear issue peacefully through consultation. Kim and Xi exchanged messages of congratulations and thanks over the Chinese party congress but neither leader has visited the other’s country since assuming power.

Song’s department is in charge of the party’s relations with foreign political parties, and has traditionally served as a conduit for Chinese diplomacy with North Korea.

A department official said last month that China’s Communist Party continued to hold talks and maintained contacts with its North Korean counterpart, describing the two countries’ friendship as important for regional stability. – Reuters