NKorea looms over meetings in China
BEIJING — President Donald Trump nodded appreciatively as China’s Xi Jinping showcased a centuries-old temple in Beijing’s Forbidden City. He clapped along as the two leaders watched a Chinese children’s opera. And the pair shared a traditional tea and salutations of friendship.
Trump’s two-day visit to China opened with diplomatic niceties aplenty Wednesday. But thorny issues await the two world leaders behind closed doors, including potential tensions over trade and China’s willingness to put the squeeze on North Korea over its nuclear weapons program.
Ahead of his arrival, Trump delivered a stern message to Beijing, using an address to the National Assembly in South Korea to call on nations to confront the North.
“All responsible nations must join forces to isolate the brutal regime of North Korea,” Trump said. “You cannot support, you cannot supply, you cannot accept.”
He called on “every nation, including China and Russia,” to fully implement U.N. Security Council resolutions against North Korea enforcing sanctions aimed at depriving its government of revenue for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The latest measure, adopted after a September atomic test explosion, the North’s largest yet, banned imports of its textiles and prohibited new work permits for overseas North Korean laborers. It also restricted exports of some petroleum products.
Trump’s words drew a caustic response from North Korean state media, which issued a statement Wednesday saying the U.S. should “oust the lunatic old man from power” and withdraw its “hostile policy” toward Pyongyang “in order to get rid of the abyss of doom.”
White House officials said Trump would underscore his public messages about North Korea when he and Xi sit down for private talks on Thursday. China is North Korea’s largest trading partner and Trump is expected to demand that the nation curtail its dealings with Pyongyang and expel North Korean workers from its borders. Trump has praised China for taking some steps against Pyongyang, but he wants them to do more.
China is increasingly disenchanted with North Korea over its nuclear weapons development but remains wary of using its full economic leverage over its traditional ally. It fears triggering a collapse of the North’s totalitarian regime that could cause an influx of refugees into northeastern China and culminate in a U.S.-allied unified Korea on its border.
China poured on the pomp and pageantry for Trump’s arrival. The president and first lady Melania Trump were greeted at the airport by dozens of children who waved U.S. and Chinese flags and jumped up and down.