SEOUL/SHANGHAI: China and South Korea called for concessions from the United States as well as North Korea, ahead of a possible second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, suggesting a US pressure campaign aimed at the North’s denuclearisation may be slipping.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday that he would cooperate with the international community to at least partially ease sanctions to allow for some inter-Korean business and tourism ventures, while later noting that Pyongyang needed to take “bold steps” towards denuclearisation to win concessions from Washington.
“I think North Korea knows that they clearly have to denuclearise for the easing of international sanctions, and the US also understands that there needs to be corresponding action to expedite the North’s denuclearisation,” Moon told reporters at the presidential Blue House.
Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Kim in Beijing this week and said he hoped the United States and North Korea would “meet each other halfway,” Chinese state media reported.
China, the North’s lone major ally, and US-backed South Korea have been key players in two years of “maximum pressure” led by the United States, but both countries are signalling an increased willingness to ease sanctions and improve ties with North Korea.
Pyongyang and Washington have been struggling to find a breakthrough despite a pledge by Kim at a landmark summit with Trump in Singapore in June to work towards denuclearisation “of the Korean peninsula”.
In prepared remarks for his annual New year speech, Moon made no mention of any steps North Korea needs to take, instead focusing on the economic benefits of making peace with North Korea.
But when pressed by journalists at a briefing afterward, Moon said North Korea should take more steps, such as abandoning its missiles and dismantling weapons production lines and other nuclear complexes, to secure US concessions such as sanctions relief. North Korean state news agency KCNA said on Thursday Kim and Xi held “in-depth, frank discussions” on the Korean peninsula and nuclear issues during Kim’s stay in Beijing, his fourth since March 2018.
Kim told Xi about the difficulties and concerns in improving North Korea-US relations and denuclearisation negotiations, KCNA said. Xi agreed that North Korea’s reasonable concerns must be addressed properly, it said. KCNA reported that Xi once again accepted Kim’s invitation to visit Pyongyang, but Chinese officials would not provide further details. — Reuters
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