US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to brief officials in Beijing on North Korea summit
Analysts say biggest gain for China from Trump-Kim talks will be an easing in strategic rivalry with the US in the region
Mike Pompeo is expected to map out the next step for North Korea’s denuclearisation during his first trip to China as US secretary of state, as analysts say developments on the peninsula could ease strategic rivalry between China and the US in the region.
Pompeo will visit Beijing on Thursday, two days after the historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that yielded a vague agreement on “complete denuclearisation” without specifying when or how it would be achieved.
Tasked with making that agreement concrete, Pompeo is due to hold talks with senior Chinese officials on the denuclearisation process, a final peace settlement for the Korean peninsula, and possible sanctions relief after months of escalating tension.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Wednesday said during a regular press conference that Pompeo would brief officials in Beijing on the outcome of the Trump-Kim summit.
Trump’s announcement after the talks that he would stop US war games with South Korea has drawn criticism that he made a major concession to the North before he had secured a concrete commitment from Kim.