EditorialState visit by Xi Jinping to North Korea can usher in new era of hope for peninsula

President Xi Jinping’s first state visit to North Korea could not be timelier. His two-day trip starting tomorrow and meeting with the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, will mark the 70th anniversary of the countries’ diplomatic relations. But it also comes a week ahead of the annual summit of the Group of 20 nations in Osaka, Japan, where the trade war between China and the United States and North Korean denuclearisation will top the agenda. For all the bargaining likely in Japan, though, the result has to be the same – a resumption of dialogue to ensure stability in East Asia.

Xi has found time in a hectic June schedule to make the visit, which follows on from meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and summits in Central Asia. He will be the first Chinese president to go to North Korea since 2005, with Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile tests having caused a rift in normally strong ties. But US President Donald Trump’s reaching out to Kim last year to broker a denuclearisation deal prompted a flurry of diplomatic activity and a marked improvement in relations. Kim has been to Beijing four times in the past 10 months, each trip taking place just before he held talks either with the American president or South Korean leader Moon­ Jae-in. The trips highlight China’s role as a key mediator.

But although Kim and Trump have met twice, talks have stalled over how denuclearisation will take place. The US wants it before a dropping of international sanctions and the signing of a peace agreement, while the North contends economic penalties should be removed and the process of scrapping weapons done gradually. Camps have been formed, with China and Russia siding with the North, their long-time ally.

Trump has suggested another meeting with Kim is possible and he said last week he had received a “beautiful” letter from him. Whatever form the G20 meeting between Xi and his US counterpart takes, the bargaining has already started with Trump saying he will raise the now suspended extradition bill and protests in Hong Kong, which could also play into discussions on North Korea. Trump will go to Seoul after Japan; Moon returned on Sunday from eight days in Scandinavia, where he pushed for a resumption of negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington.

An agreement for Pyongyang to resume dialogue would be a welcome message for Xi to take to Trump. But that is not all the Chinese and North Korean leaders will discuss; Xi’s trip is being hailed as an opportunity for the sides to begin a new chapter of relations. Kim learned lessons about China’s economic and technological development during his trips and is eager to push forward his country’s reforms. Strong ties will help the North develop and improve chances of denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.