Amid a flurry of Korea-centered diplomacy, Xi and Kim make sure they are still on the same page.
The top leaders of China and North Korea have had a second meeting, close on the heels of their first summit from March 25-28. Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un met in the northeastern Chinese coastal city of Dalian on May 7 and 8, Xinhua announced. As with the previous Xi-Kim meeting, there was no advance notice given, and the visit was only confirmed after Kim had left.
As the location suggests, this meeting was more informal than the two men’s first summit in Beijing. Kim’s two-day visit included a welcome banquet, luncheon, and even a stroll on the beach with Xi. Xinhua noted the “cordial and friendly atmosphere” of the visit in a write-up that stressed the strength of China-North Korea relations.
Noting that this was Kim’s second trip to China in just over 40 days, Xi praised the state of “strategic communication” between China and North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). At the earlier summit, Xi had emphasized the need for regular high-level talks and increased strategic communication; this week, he noted approvingly that the plan was being well-implemented.
Xi and Kim both pointed out that since their initial summit there had been “positive progress” not only in China-North Korea relations, but in the general situation on the Korean Peninsula. Kim in particular suggested that the noticeable diplomatic progress was due to “the positive outcomes of the historic meeting between me and Comrade General Secretary [Xi].”
Kim said he had come to China to inform Xi of the situation, as events on the Korean Peninsula are unfolding rapidly. Indeed, despite the short turnaround between Xi and Kim’s meetings, there was a lot to catch up on.
