A South Korean think tank says China might help reopen U.S.-North Korea talks, while U.S. analysts doubt Pyongyang wants negotiations soon or Beijing will arrange them.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited Dandong on Oct. 24, ahead of the 76th anniversary of the Chinese People’s Volunteers’ entry into the Korean front. China said Wang Huning, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, accompanied Kim to a war memorial and conveyed greetings from Chinese President Xi Jinping. North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim also visited a factory and the New Yalu River Bridge. Neither country’s public account mentioned possible talks with the United States.
In a report published Oct. 26, the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU) said the officials present and the timing of the visit raised the possibility of preliminary coordination for a meeting between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump around the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The institute did not confirm that talks with Washington had occurred. It said Beijing could gain influence on the Korean Peninsula and Xi could gain standing by helping bring the leaders together. KINU also warned that either direct U.S.-North Korea talks or China-led mediation could narrow South Korea’s diplomatic and security options.
Yonhap reported that South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told lawmakers Oct. 27 that North Korea and China may have discussed restarting dialogue with Washington. Cho said, “I believe that is a possibility,” while cautioning that it was too early to draw a firm conclusion.
On a podcast published Oct. 27 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), senior adviser Sydney Seiler said Pyongyang and other major players lacked urgency to negotiate. He argued that North Korea could gain bargaining power by staying away from talks, saying, “There’s much to be accomplished by refusing to talk.” Victor Cha, the CSIS Korea Chair, said China might host a summit but was unlikely to do the diplomatic groundwork.
The APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting is scheduled for Nov. 18-19 in Shenzhen. The White House said Trump and Xi intend to attend each other’s summits, but no announcement confirms Kim will attend or that a Trump-Kim meeting is planned.
