Kim Jong-un’s second meeting with Xi Jinping shows China is key to denuclearising North Korea, US analysts say

Tuesday’s surprise second meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping – which came ahead of Kim’s talks with US President Donald Trump – underscores how significant a role China will play in any negotiations to denuclearise North Korea, US analysts said.

These analysts believe that such negotiations might result in a “permanent, solid peace” on the Korean peninsula.

On Tuesday, Xi met with Kim in Dalian, a coastal city in northeast China’s Liaoning Province that borders North Korea. In March, the two leaders met in Beijing – Kim’s first trip as North Korea’s leader out of the country – before Kim took part in historic summit talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. 

Kim Jong-un is China’s 'mystery guest' in surprise summit

On Tuesday, Xi praised “positive progress” on both China-North Korea relations and the evolving Korean Peninsula situation, telling Chinese state media: “I feel happy about it.”

April’s talk between the two Koreas seems to have opened a season of meetings that might result in the disarmament of North Korea’s nuclear weapons, US analysts said. 

Victor Cha, a former director for Asian affairs of the National Security Council (NSC) under President George W. Bush, told the South China Morning Post that the meetings between Kim and Moon could lead to “a whole bunch of summits happening” – including the planned US-North Korea talks, a possible trilateral meeting involving the US and both Koreas, and even one between Russia and North Korea.