Kim Jong-un tells Xi Jinping he’s willing to denuclearise, but does anyone really know what that means?
North Korean leader says if South Korea and US respond with goodwill to his efforts, the issue of denuclearisation can be resolved
The surprise visit to Beijing by North Korea’s reclusive leader Kim Jong-un, and especially his comments suggesting he would be willing to denuclearise his country, has raised the stakes for his proposed meeting with US President Donald Trump, pundits say.
During his first overseas trip since coming to power seven years ago, Kim said he had taken the initiative to ease the tensions that had pushed the Korean Peninsula to the brink of a nuclear stand-off and put forward proposals for peace talks, Xinhua reported.
“If South Korea and the US respond with goodwill to our efforts and create an atmosphere of peace and stability, and take phased, synchronised measures to achieve peace, the issue of the denuclearisation of the peninsula can reach a resolution,” he was quoted as saying during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Kim’s commitment to denuclearisation, which both Beijing and Washington have demanded for years and was previously cited by Trump as a precondition for talks, did not appear in the official accounts of his brief but historic visit to China published by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency.
Pundits nonetheless believe his remarks may represent a shift in attitude, despite the fact that Kim and his US counterpart apparently have different understandings of the terminology.