Experts comment on North Korean leader's visit to China
(Baonghean.vn) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made his third visit to China in just a few months.
 |
| A car in the convoy believed to be carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Beijing, China. Photo: AP |
In a rare move, Chinese state media confirmed that Kim Jong-un's visit will take place over two days (June 19 and 20).
The North Korean leader's visit to Beijing, just a week after his summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore, demonstrates Pyongyang's appreciation for its close neighbor and traditional ally.
The plane believed to be carrying the North Korean leader landed at Beijing Capital International Airport on the morning of June 19. Reporters spotted Kim Jong-un’s $1 million bulletproof Mercedes parked at the airport, before a motorcade entered the streets of Beijing.
Kim Jong-un's latest visit to Beijing shows President Xi Jinping's ambition not to be "left out" in any US-North Korea discussions.
However, the official coverage of the visit by Chinese media marked a new era for Kim Jong-un's status as a world leader.
By publicly sharing details of Kim Jong-un’s overseas trip, China has given North Korea more legitimacy, furthering its ambition to be treated as an equal to any other country. The North Korean leader’s visit also reaffirmed China’s influence on the Korean Peninsula.
 |
| North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump. Photo: Getty |
Sun Yun, an expert on North Korea at the Stimson Center (USA), commented that even before the US-North Korea summit, China always wanted to maintain its power.
Instead of using a North Korean plane to travel to Singapore for the summit, Kim Jong-un used an Air China plane.
“Of course, Kim Jong-un wants to strengthen his negotiating position by keeping China on his side. To do that, he needs China to make a similar gesture. And China is very happy because that is the only way they can approach the summit,” the expert commented.
This expert also said that when announcing that sanctions against North Korea would remain in place, the US seemed to want China, along with Japan and South Korea, to “join hands in making efforts to do so.” According to Ms. Ton Van, China sees this as a way to increase its influence and position./.
