China urges Kim to act on summit talks
Hoping for progression on agreement with U.S.
BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday he hopes Pyongyang and Washington can fully implement the outcome of last week’s nuclear summit at which Kim pledged to work toward denuclearization in exchange for U.S. security guarantees.
State broadcaster CCTV said Xi told Kim that through the “concerted efforts of the relevant countries” negotiations regarding issues on the Korean Peninsula are back on track and the overall situation is moving in the direction of peace and stability.
The summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore marked an “important step toward the political solution of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue,” Xi was quoted as saying.
China hopes North Korea and the U.S. can “implement well the outcomes achieved at the summit,” Xi said.
Along with a statement signed by Kim and Trump offering vague commitments to denuclearization and security, Trump also agreed to suspend military exercises with South Korea in what was seen as a major win for North Korea and its allies, China and Russia.
Kim’s two-day visit to China, which began Tuesday, was expected as part of the Communist neighbors’ tradition to report to each other on major developments.
The visit is Kim’s third to China since March, highlighting China’s crucial role in efforts by the U.S. and others to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear program. The U.S. has long looked to China to use its influence to bring North Korea to negotiations.
China’s official Xinhua News Agency announced the North Korean leader’s visit shortly after he apparently landed Tuesday morning, dispensing with the secrecy shrouding previous trips to China by Kim and his father and predecessor, Kim Jong Il.