North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s surprise trip to China could herald a new round of summitry on and about the peninsula, analysts say, but may also be an attempt to pressure U. S. President Donald Trump as negotiations between them falter. Discussions between Pyongyang and Washington over the
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s surprise trip to China could herald a new round of summitry on and about the peninsula, analysts say, but may also be an attempt to pressure U. S. President Donald Trump as negotiations between them falter.
Discussions between Pyongyang and Washington over the North’s nuclear arsenal have stalled since Kim and Trump’s high-profile summit in Singapore, with the US insisting that sanctions must remain in place until it gives up its weapons, and the North demanding an immediate easing.
In his New Year’s address — always a key moment in the North Korean political calendar — Kim said that if Washington persisted with its approach, “we may be left with no choice but to consider a new way to safeguard our sovereignty and interests.”
With his visit to China, “Kim is eager to remind the Trump administration that he does have diplomatic and economic options besides what Washington and Seoul can offer,” said Harry Kazianis of the Center for the National Interest in Washington.
The U. S. should be “quite concerned” by any effort by Pyongyang to strengthen ties with Beijing, he added, as almost all North Korean trade flows through China and any improvement in relations would weaken the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” strategy.
