BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping offered high praise to visiting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday, lauding the “positive” outcome of his historic summit with US President Donald Trump and promising unwavering friendship.
Meeting Kim on his third trip to China this year, and just a week after Kim met Trump in Singapore, Xi said China was willing to keep playing a positive role to promote the peace process on the Korean peninsula.
Kim’s visit was the latest in a flurry of diplomatic contacts, and unlike during his previous two visits to China, the government announced his presence while he was in the country rather than waiting for him to leave.
Xi told Kim that he was very happy to see the “positive” outcome of his meeting with Trump, and the important consensus reached on denuclearization and setting up a lasting peace mechanism, according to Chinese state television.
“No matter the changes in the international and regional situation, China’s party and government’s resolute position on being dedicated to consolidating and developing Sino-North Korea relations will not change,” the report cited Xi as saying.
“The Chinese people’s friendship for the North Korean people will not change, and China’s support for socialist North Korea will not change,” Xi added.
Kim told Xi he hoped to work with China and other parties to push the peace process, Chinese state television said.
While not formally billed as a state visit, China gave Kim most of the trappings of one, including a welcome ceremony with honor guard in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.
Xi greeted Kim warmly, in images carried on state television. The two men were accompanied by their wives.
Xi said he was pleased to see North Korea’s decision to promote economic reforms, adding that China’s own reform and opening up process had meant the Chinese people’s eyes had been open to the world.
North Korean state media had not mentioned Kim’s visit by early evening.
Trump agreed to work with Kim toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, committed to provide the North with security guarantees and pledged to end “war games” with South Korea, which North Korea and China have long seen as provocative.
South Korea and the Pentagon announced they would halt the annual Freedom Guardian military drill scheduled for August.
A Kim trip to China to discuss his summit with Trump had been widely anticipated in diplomatic circles. China is North Korea’s most important diplomatic and economic backer but has been angered by its nuclear and missile tests.
South Korea’s foreign ministry spokesman said South Korea and China shared the strategic goal of completely denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.
“Our government hopes China will play a constructive role in resolving this problem,” ministry spokesman Noh Kyu-deok told a regular briefing.
“We hope Chairman Kim Jong Un’s visit will contribute to that.”
China has welcomed the warming of ties between the United States and North Korea, and offered to help.
It has been particularly pleased by Trump’s decision to suspend military drills with South Korea. It has long proposed a “dual suspension”, whereby North Korea stops weapons tests and the United States and South Korea stop military drills, to encourage talks.
“South Korea and the United States have agreed to suspend all planning activities regarding the Freedom Guardian military drill scheduled for August,” South Korea’s defense ministry said in a statement.
The Pentagon confirmed the suspension, adding in a statement there would be a meeting of the secretaries of defense and state as well as Trump’s national security adviser on the issue this week.
Last year, 17,500 American and more than 50,000 South Korean troops joined the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills, although the exercise is mostly focused on computerized simulations rather than field exercises.
