Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s North Korea visit ‘could make case for four-party talks on peninsula’
Foreign minister Wang Yi may seek clarification of vow by North and South to ‘end war by trilateral or quadrilateral talks’ as China eyes seat at table
China’s foreign minister will travel to North Korea on Wednesday in the first such visit since 2007, which analysts say may show Beijing’s desire to join the next stage of talks involving the two Koreas and the United States.
Wang Yi’s trip will come ahead of a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a statement on Monday that Wang would visit on Wednesday and Thursday at the invitation of his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-ho.
China is the North’s only major economic partner, but trade has declined by about 90 per cent since Beijing’s enactment of economic sanctions imposed over Pyongyang’s nuclear bomb and ballistic missile tests.
In March, Kim made his first visit to Beijing since taking power in 2011, kicking off a flurry of diplomacy culminating in his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in last week.
South Korean officials said that Kim had told Moon he would be willing to give up his nuclear weapons if the US committed to a formal end to the Korean war and pledged not to attack the North.