Chinese state television reported that Xi promised Kim that China would keep supporting North Korea, and Kim promised Xi that the North “would upgrade bilateral ties with China to a new level.”
In the wake of what US (and international) media celebrated as a diplomatic victory for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during last week’s US-North Korea summit in Singapore, Kim on Tuesday traveled to Beijing for a two-day visit, where he filled Chinese President Xi Jinping in on the details of his discussion with President Trump, according to NBC News. Kim’s visit comes a week after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with senior Chinese officials. According to initial reports, Chinese President Xi Jinping praised Kim for making headway with the US. According to Bloomberg, Chinese state television reported that Xi promised Kim that China would keep supporting North Korea, and Kim promised Xi that the North “would upgrade bilateral ties with China to a new level.”
Xi added that he hopes the North and the US will work toward peace on the Korean peninsula, and applauded the US’s decision to halt joint military exercises with South Korea. Such effusive praise from China’s leader is only the latest sign that Kim’s benefactor has perhaps been the driving force behind Kim’s bid for peace.
Here’s NBC News:
Chinese President Xi Jinping “is exerting a lot of influence from behind the scenes,” said Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
