Korean consensus on Kim Jong-un’s visit to China

Korean consensus on Kim Jong-un’s visit to China

News:

North Korea Leader Kim Jong Visits China for Summit with Xi Jinping.

Important Facts:

Reason for Visiting China:

• The summit with Chinese President comes as Kim and President Donald Trump are negotiating over the location for a second summit meeting over denuclearization and economic sanction issues.
• Kim Jong-un had used the meeting “to add to the pressure on Trump [to reduce sanctions] and to use China as back-up.
• Kim’s visit to China is also being seen as part of an effort to win Chinese support for reducing sanctions that were strengthened in response to a string of ballistic missile launches and a nuclear test in 2017.

Tussle between North Korea and U.S:

• There has been little progress made between the US and North Korea since the historic Singapore summit in June – the first ever meeting between a North Korean leader and US president.
• In Singapore Summit both parties signed a pledge at the time to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, though it was never made clear what this would entail.
• Later, Sanctions were imposed on trade bans on weapons related materials and goods, but expanded to luxury goods to target the elites. Further sanctions expanded to financial assets and banking transactions, and general travel and trade.
• Pyongyang wants Washington to lift the sanctions the United Nations imposes on the country because of its nuclear and missile programmes.
• North Korea has warned that denuclearization could be put at risk unless the US eases sanctions, while the US insists the North must first demonstrate its commitment to abandoning nuclear weapons

Demand put forward by Korean President in a recent meet:

• Easing of economic sanctions.
• Permanent end to the annual joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea.
• Another demand was for multilateral negotiations to declare a formal end to the Korean war in place of the truce that has obtained since 1953.
• Convert the demilitarized Zone that separates the North and South Korea into a peace park, and to disarm the joint security area.

China-North Korea relations:

• China’s support for North Korea dates back to the Korean War (1950–1953), when its troops flooded the Korean Peninsula to aid its northern ally
• Beijing and Seoul established diplomatic ties in 1992 and have evolved to be important economic partners
• But strains in the relationship began to surface when Pyongyang tested a nuclear weapon in October 2006 and Beijing supported UN Security Council Resolution 1718
• After North Korea’s latest missile launch in November 2017, China expressed “grave concern and opposition,” calling on North Korea to cease actions that have increased tensions on the Korean peninsula.
• Still, Beijing continues to have sizeable economic ties with Pyongyang. Bilateral trade increased tenfold between 2000 and 2015
• With the advent of tougher sanctions, trade growth has dampened, but Pyongyang is still dependent on Beijing for economic activity
• Despite Beijing’s displeasure at Kim Jong-un’s unwavering nuclear ambition, connectivity between China and North Korea has grown. China provides North Korea with most of its food and energy supplies and accounts for more than 90 percent of North Korea’s total trade volume
• Despite announced trade restrictions in textiles, seafood, and oil products, there are reports of North Korean businesses still in operation in China.
• Ultimately, for Beijing, “stability on the Korean Peninsula has always been prioritized over denuclearization.