As denuclearization fades from China-N. Korea talks, military cooperation reemerges

Chinese President Xi Jinping returned to Beijing on Tuesday from his first trip to North Korea in seven years.

In their summit on Monday, Xi and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are believed to have pledged greater cooperation in the military and economic areas and to have strategically upgraded their bilateral relationship.

Notably, the two leaders avoided any mention of denuclearization, as North Korea wished, while China appears to have countered North Korea’s cozy ties with Russia by strengthening its own military cooperation with the North.

As of Tuesday, no language about North Korea’s denuclearization had appeared either in statements by the Chinese Foreign Ministry or in North Korean state-owned media following Xi and Kim’s summit on Monday.

Leading up to Xi’s visit, North Korea had not-so-subtly hinted through moves by Kim Jong-un and his sister Kim Yo-jong, director of the General Affairs Department of North Korea’s ruling party, that denuclearization was not on the table.

On Sunday, the day before Xi was set to arrive in Pyongyang, Kim Yo-jong flatly stated that the US State Department was “spreading false information” when it claimed that US President Donald Trump and Xi had reaffirmed the goal of North Korea’s denuclearization.

On June 3, North Korea published images of Kim Jong-un inspecting a fissile material factory presumed to be a uranium enrichment site, underscoring the regime’s determination to remain nuclear-armed.

That day, Kim emphasized that “thoroughly exercis[ing] the position of a nuclear weapons state” is the North’s invariable and essential political and military stance.

Considering that North Korea’s denuclearization went completely unmentioned, it would appear that Kim got his way in his summit with Xi.

China feels the need to boost its strategic position on the Korean Peninsula while countering North Korea’s efforts to strengthen ties with Russia amid China’s intense competition with the US. As such, Beijing appears to have decided not to mention denuclearization given Pyongyang’s discomfort with the topic.

“When it comes to denuclearization, China appears to be trying to manage the situation without making it worse. China is moving forward with cooperation in economic areas, including foreign investment and opening up, while keeping [sensitive topics] under wraps,” said Lee Hee-ok, professor emeritus of comparative politics at Sungkyunkwan University.

Kim also said that North Korea continues to hold to the “one-China principle,” backing Beijing on the issue of Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a nonnegotiable “c