China hails Kim Jong Un for efforts to reduce South Korea tension

CHINA’S FOREIGN minister has congratulated North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on moves to reduce tension with South Korea.

Their meeting in Pyongyang underscored warming ties and Beijing’s desire to remain a key player in the Korean Peninsula peace process.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi also told Mr Kim that Beijing backs North Korea’s shift of focus to economic growth.

It supports efforts to resolve “legitimate security concerns” while taking steps to denuclearise, China’s Foreign Ministry said.

China “supports and congratulates” Mr Kim’s summit last week with South Korean president Moon Jae-in and the statement they issued, Mr Wang reportedly said. “The meeting has brought a favourable opportunity for a political resolution of the (Korean) Peninsula issue,” he said.

Relations between China and North Korea have undergone a vast outward improvement following Mr Kim’s recent visit to Beijing. China, North Korea’s biggest trading partner, has joined United Nations sanctions against the North that have cut trade between them by about 90 per cent.

Mr Kim’s trip in March was his first to his country’s only major ally since taking power six years ago, kicking off a flurry of diplomacy.

A meeting between Mr Kim and US president Donald Trump is expected in the coming weeks, although arrangements have yet to be announced.

Mr Trump has hinted there may soon be an update on the three Americans being held captive in North Korea.

He tweeted: “As everybody is aware, the past Administration has long been asking for three hostages to be released from a North Korean Labor camp, but to no avail. Stay tuned!”