- Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit North Korea on Thursday for a two-day summit with Kim Jong-un — the first for a Chinese leader in 14 years.
- Ahead of the trip on Wednesday, he published an essay praising North Korea for moving in the "right direction" by trying to resolve political issues on the Korean Peninsula.
- Experts say Xi, who is locked in a trade war with the US, could be using the meeting as leverage against Trump — to either help or hinder US-North Korean nuclear disarmament talks.
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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping praised North Korea for moving in the "right direction" by politically resolving issues on the Korean Peninsula in an essay published in both countries' official media Wednesday on the eve of Xi's visit to Pyongyang to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Xi had nothing to say on the biggest outside worry about North Korea — stalled nuclear weapons talks between Washington and Pyongyang — in the article published on the front page of North Korea's main newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, and by China's Xinhua news agency.
But experts believe he could use his summit with Kim, which the North is calling a state visit, to endorse North Korean calls for an incremental disarmament process in which every action Pyongyang takes is met with US concessions on sanctions and security issues.
Read more: How North Korean leader Kim Jong Un became one of the world's most feared dictators
Much of the article focused on lauding the neighbors' seven-decade relationship. Xi said his visit on Thursday and Friday will "strengthen strategic communication and exchange" between the traditional, though sometimes strained, allies.
The nations fought together in the 1950-53 Korean War against the United States, South Korea and their allies, but there has been friction in recent years, especially over the North's relentless push for nuclear bombs.
Xi, who is locked in a bitter trade war with President Donald Trump, will likely meet with the US leader at the G-20 meetings in Japan. He may try to use his summit with Kim as leverage, by reminding Trump of Beijing's influence with Pyongyang, which could either help or disrupt the US-North Korea diplomacy, experts say.
Kim also wants to strengthen his own position against Trump and is obviously seeking to cement China, the North's only major ally and economic lifeline, as a major player in the process.
"China supports how (North Korea) is maintaining the right direction to politically resolve the issues on the Korean Peninsula and supports efforts to find a solution (to serve North Korea's) rational interests through dialogue," Xi wrote on Rodong Sinmun.
Nuclear negotiations between the United States and North Korea have been at a standstill since February when a summit between Kim and Trump collapsed over what the Americans described as excessive North Korean demands for sanctions relief in exchange for only a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities.
Kim met Xi four times in China last year during a diplomatic outreach that also included meetings with Trump, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
While Kim is trying to leverage his nuclear weapons and missiles for economic and security benefits, there are doubts about whether he will ever fully deal away his arsenal.
Some experts say Kim's moves to make sure China is a major player in the process have been seen as a sign that the North's traditional stance essentially remains.
- Read more:
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was an unremarkable child who struggled to learn foreign languages and attacked fellow students at school in Switzerland, a new book claims
- The US defense chief gave China's defense minister a 'gift' that called out Beijing over North Korea
- Trump tells Kim Jong Un he won't let the CIA spy on North Korea after an informant was killed
- North Korean leader's half brother was reportedly an informant for the CIA