Chinese official to brief Moon on summit result

By Kim Rahn

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi

Cheong Wa Dae welcomed the recent summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Thursday, saying it will help stabilize the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

The positive reaction came Thursday when a ranking Chinese official came to Seoul to brief officials here on the results of the bilateral talks between Beijing and Pyongyang.

The previous day China and North Korea confirmed their leaders had bilateral talks in Beijing. It was Kim's first overseas trip and meeting with the head of a foreign state since taking power in 2011. It also took place before the scheduled summit between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in late April and a separate one between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in May.

"We welcome the bilateral talks between Kim and Xi," presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said in a written statement. "It is meaningful that during the summit, Kim showed a strong commitment to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and to the Seoul-Pyongyang and Washington-Pyongyang summits."

The statement said China's participation in the talks about the nuclear issue through the summit will help stabilize the situation surrounding the peninsula.

While a reconciliatory atmosphere has been unfolding among the two Koreas and the United States since the start of the year with the agreement to hold bilateral talks and exchange of envoys, China has been relatively sidelined in the diplomatic process. But the Pyongyang-Beijing summit showed the longtime allies, whose relationship had been strained since Kim took power, still need each other and Beijing's role in resolving the nuclear issue may become larger.

"I hope the following Seoul-Pyongyang and Washington-Pyongyang talks will lead to a turning point toward permanent denuclearization and peace on the peninsula," the statement read.

Later in the day, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi arrived in Seoul and had a meeting with National Security Office head Chung Eui-yong, who went to Pyongyang earlier this month as Moon's special envoy along with other South Korean officials in charge of security and diplomacy.

Yang, who came as Xi's special representative, told the Seoul officials about the results of the Beijing-Pyongyang summit and they discussed how the bilateral talks would affect the upcoming Seoul-Pyongyang and Washington-Pyongyang summits. Yang will meet with President Moon today, presumably delivering Xi's message about his summit with Kim.

In the bilateral talks with Xi, Kim said his country was committed to denuclearization on the peninsula in accordance with the will of his grandfather and father ― former leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il ― according to Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television (CCTV).

Saying Pyongyang was willing to have dialogue with Seoul and Washington, Kim reportedly said he would give up nuclear weapons if the two nations take "phased" measures for peace and stability.

"The issue of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula can be resolved, if South Korea and the U.S. respond to our efforts with goodwill, create an atmosphere of peace and stability while taking progressive and synchronous measures for the realization of peace," Kim was quoted as saying.

On the Beijing trip, Kim was accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju and Choe Ryong-hae, the de facto No. 2 man and vice chairman of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.