‘Urgency’ sparked historic meeting
Experts: N. Korea, China likely sought support, relevance
BEIJING — It had the trappings of a historic summit — a mysterious train, a motorbike convoy, a military welcome and extraordinary displays of flowers and flags.
When North Korean leader Kim Jong Un came to Beijing this week to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, it marked the first time that Kim is known to have traveled outside his country since becoming its leader in 2011, and his first meeting of any kind with another head of state. But its true significance may become apparent only after two more summits.
The first, in April, will bring together Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The second, should it take place, would pair the North Korean leader with President Donald Trump.
Experts say that Kim was probably eager to shore up support from China, Pyongyang’s main trading partner and ally, for additional leverage in those discussions. He may also want to drive a wedge between the U.S. and China, which have in the last year joined forces to implement draconian sanctions on Pyongyang.
China, meanwhile, is striving to remain central to discussions, experts say. Beijing is about 500 miles from Pyongyang and does not want a war in its backyard. “I think (the meeting) shows some sense of urgency on both sides,” said Go Myong-Hyun, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul. “I think Xi Jinping now understands that China was being sidelined in these discussions that were taking North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping met this week in advance of Kim’s planned meetings with South Korean and U.S. leaders this spring. place between North Korea, the U.S. and South Korea.”
China and North Korea enjoy a strong historical bond, with their Communist roots and their alliance during the Korean War of 1950-1953. Yet their relations have soured, especially throughout last year, as Pyongyang tested more than two dozen missiles and, in September, a nuclear bomb. Beijing fears instability and has repeatedly warned Pyongyang over its provocations.
In the Beijing meetings, Kim said his country could potentially denuclearize “if South Korea and the United States respond to our efforts in good faith (and) create a peaceful and stable atmosphere,” according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
The meeting spotlighted a high-wire act for both China and North Korea in advance of Kim’s planned meetings with South Korean and U.S. leaders this spring.
“What does Kim Jong Un want? Let’s be clear. He wants to break what appears to be a united front between China and the U.S. on the North Korea issue,” said Andrei Lankov, director of the research firm Korea Risk Group and a professor at Kookmin University in Seoul.
“Kim has likely made a lot of promises, not all of which are going to be kept, in order to prove to his Chinese hosts that it’s in Chinese interests not to be harsh to North Korea,” he continued. “I can imagine him making promises to behave himself for a while, at least as long as Trump is in the White House. But it’s also possible that he’ll try to terrify China by the increasingly likely prospect of an American military operation in Korea.”
Trump, in a morning tweet, reported he had received a message from Xi describing the visit and saying Kim “looks forward to his meeting with me.”
“In the meantime, and unfortunately,” he added, “maximum sanctions and pressure must be maintained at all cost!”
Trump predicted that Kim may be coming around and “will do what is right.” But Kim was clearly using the China appearance to strengthen his own hand. Kim wants to include the more sympathetic posture of China, while Xi wants to continue to play the role of regional power broker.
In their meetings, Xi was careful to treat Kim as an equal. Kim is likely to similarly parlay any meeting with Trump as proof of his international stature — a gambit that Trump may not be well equipped to counter. Kim will likely declare that it is his nuclear power that has earned him the world’s respect.
Japan, which has taken an especially hard line against North Korea and was caught off guard by Trump’s announcement he would sit down with Kim, has been left out of these machinations. A mild panic seems to be setting in to Japanese leadership as it is left out not only of the Trump-Kim summit but also Kim’s trip this week to Beijing. Asked about the trip Tuesday, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono was reduced to saying he hoped for an “explanation” from Beijing.
Chinese and North Korean media both made prominent shows of the visit, with the Xinhua News Agency publishing a 2,646-word article and North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun running a photo from the meeting on its front page.
The agencies showed photos of Kim and Xi shaking hands against a backdrop of North Korean and Chinese flags; posing with their wives, Ri Sol Ju and Peng Liyuan; toasting at a banquet; and speaking with other officials at the Great Hall of the People, a lushcarpeted meeting hall in Beijing.
Kim has made several gestures in recent months to defuse t ensions. Last month, North Korea sent a delegation, led by Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong, to the Winter Olympics in South Korea. The charm offensive paved the way to talks with South Korean officials, and later a historic offer to meet Trump, who quickly accepted.
The Xinhua News Agency reported that Xi, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, said, “China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in the issue of the peninsula and work together with all parties including the DPRK to jointly promote the relaxation of the situation on the peninsula.”
By traveling on a train, Kim followed precedents set by his grandfather and father, North Korea’s two previous leaders.
Lankov, the professor, said that the three Kims have all proven remarkably adept at getting their way with foreign governments.
“I’ve been studying North Korea for 35 years,” he said. “I can assure you North Koreans have so far managed to outsmart everybody. They were remarkably good at playing Russia and China against each other in the 1950s and ’60s. They’ve outsmarted Americans a number of times, and they’ve outsmarted South Koreans too. I don’t know why we shouldn’t expect they won’t outsmart them once again.”