Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un Affirm Friendship, Nuclear Issue Not Discussed
Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday affirmed their commitment to carrying forward the tradition of friendship between the two countries from generation to generation, according to Chinese state media. Meanwhile, North Korean reports on the previous day’s summit made no mention of Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.
Before concluding his two-day visit to North Korea, his first since 2019, Xi paid tribute at the China-North Korea Friendship Tower, which was built to commemorate Chinese soldiers who fought in the 1950–1953 Korean War. Xi was accompanied by Kim during the event, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The two leaders also visited the Central Cadre Training School of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea and jointly planted a cypress tree. China and North Korea, which fought together against United Nations forces led by the United States during the Korean War, have long described their relationship as sealed in blood.
A statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry regarding the Xi-Kim meeting released on Monday also did not mention North Korea’s nuclear programme. Beijing has recently refrained from openly criticising Pyongyang’s nuclear programme, although the White House stated that Xi and US President Donald Trump reaffirmed their shared goal of achieving the denuclearisation of North Korea during a meeting in Beijing in mid-May.
North Korea’s official news agency, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), reported that Xi and Kim agreed on Monday to further strengthen strategic communication and expand exchanges to mark the 65th anniversary of the mutual aid treaty between the two countries, in order to open a new chapter in bilateral relations. The China-North Korea Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance, signed in 1961, contains provisions for providing immediate military and other support if either country suffers an armed attack.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during a press conference on Tuesday that Beijing is ready to enhance exchanges with Pyongyang in the fields of diplomacy, law enforcement, the military, and other areas.
Park Jong Chol, a political science professor at Gyeongsang National University in South Korea, said he believed China’s stance desiring the denuclearisation of North Korea had not changed and that the two leaders had likely reached a new agreement regarding the nuclear issue. According to Park, Xi and Kim may have agreed that China would not oppose North Korea’s already produced nuclear weapons, while Pyongyang would halt further production of its nuclear arsenal. However, he stressed that developments still needed to be closely monitored. Park also stated that Xi’s proposal for increased military exchanges was quite surprising.
An official from South Korea’s Unification Ministry said this was the first time military exchanges between China and North Korea had been mentioned publicly since Kim Jong Un effectively inherited power after his father, Kim Jong Il, died in December 2011. According to KCNA, Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun was among the senior officials accompanying Xi during the visit to North Korea.
Relations between Beijing and Pyongyang have recently shown improvement after previously appearing strained due to North Korea’s increasingly close military cooperation with Russia, including the dispatch of North Korean troops to assist Moscow in the war in Ukraine. While in Pyongyang, Xi attended a welcoming banquet and watched an artistic performance with Kim Jong Un.