North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in the Chinese capital in the early hours on Tuesday, for consultations with Beijing, ahead of a likely second round of talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.
The talks are taking place amid signs that the dialogue between Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump could take place either in Hanoi, Bangkok or Hawaii. The two leaders had last met in Singapore for their first meeting last June.
Last week, Mr. Trump was emphatic in stating that both Pyongyang and Washington wanted another round of talks. “They do want to meet, and we want to meet, and we’ll see what happens,” the U.S. President said on Sunday. Regarding the venue of the dialogue, he added: “It will be announced probably in the not too distant future.”
But ahead of the North Korean leader’s visit to Beijing, Pyongyang had made it plain that its willingness for talks with Mr. Trump could not be taken for granted. On the contrary, Mr. Kim announced during his New Year message that his readiness to meet with Mr. Trump was linked to the lifting of sanctions that have been imposed against North Korea.
Analysts say that the gap between the U.S. and North Korean wishlists to enable talks is pretty wide, and consultations with China were likely to help narrow it down. The North Koreans say that their earlier dismantling of an atomic weapon test site as well as their pledge to denuclearise, made explicit during the Singapore talks with Mr. Trump was sufficient for the lifting of sanctions.
But the Americans want Pyongyang to take concrete steps such as declaring the number of nuclear weapons in their arsenal, before sanctions can disappear.
Nevertheless, the South China Morning Post quoted a South Korean researcher as saying that a discussion between Mr. Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping on shipping North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missiles out of the country to dismantle them, cannot be ruled out.
In Beijing, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported that Mr. Kim was in China till Thursday. Global Times , the state-run tabloid added that “…(Mr.) Kim is likely seeking advice and assistance from China,” quoting Wang Junsheng, a research fellow on East Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
“The reason North Korea can take the daring step toward denuclearisation and engagement with the U.S. is mainly because of its trust in China,” said Wang Sheng, a professor of international relations and expert on the peninsula issue at Jilin University.
Mr. Kim is also expected to seek further support for his country's economic development, the daily observed. Mr. Kim held three summits last year with Mr. Xi, prior to talks with Mr. Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
In South Korea, the presidential Blue House spokesperson Kim Eui-kyeom said on Tuesday that Seoul hoped Mr. Kim’s visit would help secure permanent peace on the peninsula.
“We especially hope that the exchange between China and North Korea this time will be a stepping stone for the second North Korea-U.S. summit,” the spokesperson said.
Earlier on Monday, Mr. Kim left for China on a private green train with a yellow stripe. His wife, Ri Sol Ju, and senior North Korean officials, including Kim Yong Chol, a top negotiator in the dialogue with the United States, accompanied him.
