bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Choi Chi-yuk

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s lack of experience in summit diplomacy may have been an important motive for his visit to China, according to a former South Korean foreign minister.
Yun Byung-se said that even though Kim had been formally invited by Xi Jinping, it is possible that Kim was the one who had initially requested a meeting.
The China visit was the first time the reclusive North Korean leader was known to have left his country since coming to power in 2011.
Kim is preparing for his upcoming talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in April and with Donald Trump the following month, but Kim is not experienced in summit diplomacy, Yun told the South China Morning Post.
The White House has hailed Kim Jong-un’s Beijing visit – but what are China’s intentions?
“He may need advice from Xi, especially on how to deal with Trump who is not predictable,” he said.
Xi, who already had bilateral meetings with Trump in Mar-a-Lago and Beijing last year, is better prepared for dealing with the US leader, Yun said.
Kim’s visit to China was shrouded in secrecy with heavy security deployed in the Diaoyutai State Guest House and the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Despite the heavy security presence, there was no official confirmation that he was visiting China until the train carrying him had left Chinese territory on Wednesday.
But Yun and other observers said Kim’s visit could have been finalised at least two weeks earlier.


Yang Jiechi, China’s most senior diplomat, was due to visit South Korea on March 21 and 22, but South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said on March 16 that Yang’s trip would be postponed.
South Korea did not explain the reason behind the postponement, and Yang’s visit only began on Thursday.
Kim Jong-un tells Xi Jinping he’s willing to denuclearise, but does anyone really know what that means?
Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London, said that it was likely that Yang’s visit to South Korea was delayed because of Kim’s visit to China.
“It would make a lot of sense to the Chinese Government to wait until Xi had met with Kim before sending Yang to meet with the South Koreans.
“The Xi-Kim meeting has made China relevant and a key player again on the future of the Korean peninsula.”

Professor Sun Xingjie, a North Korea expert at Jilin University, also linked the postponement of Yang’s trip to the South Korea to Kim’s visit.
Kim Jong-un wife’s fashion sense a hit with China’s public
“As there is no mention about the reasons for the delay to Yang’s visit, it is safe to say that the two events [trips for both Yang and Kim] have something to do with each other, when it is judged by the timings of what have happened.”
But Tsang, however, pointed out that it was going too far to assume that the date of announcement, March 16, was the date when an agreement was reached for Kim to visit Beijing.
He said: “I can see Beijing asking to defer the Yang visit once the prospect of a Xi-Kim meeting looks promising. There is no way of knowing the exact date when Kim agreed to visit Beijing.”
Additional reporting by Jeongho Lee


North Korea’s Kim Jong-un set to signal stronger nuclear deterrence posture at congress

North Korean ex-envoy on Kim Jong-un’s ‘decapitation’ fears after Maduro’s capture

North Korea fires ballistic missiles as US signals defence shift

Seoul warns North Korea’s nuclear weapons will soon go ‘abroad’, posing ‘global danger’

Kim Jong-un

Kim Jong-un’s lack of diplomatic experience ‘may have prompted China visit’ to help prepare for Trump summit

Kim Jong-un’s visit to China came ahead of summits with the South Korean and American presidents. Photo AFP/ KCNA via KNS

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se looks on at the start of a working session of the Foreign Ministers of the G20 leading and developing economies at the World Conference Center in Bonn, western Germany, on February 17, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Patrik STOLLARZ

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi arrives at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, Thursday, March 29, 2018. High-level officials from North and South Korea began talks at a border village Thursday to prepare for an April summit between their leaders amid a global diplomatic push to resolve the standoff over the North's nuclear program. (Ha Sa-hun/Yonhap via AP)

Chinese cameras show a more humble Kim Jong-un as he meets Xi Jinping

Kim Jong-un (left) shakes hands with Xi Jinping during their meeting in Beijing on Monday. Photo: AFP/KCNA via KNS

Image captured from CCTV shows North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un taking notes during the meeting with Xi Jinping. SCMP Pictures (UNDATED HANDOUT)

FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un provides guidance with Ri Hong Sop (3rd L) and Hong Sung Mu (L) on a nuclear weapons program in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang September 3, 2017. KCNA via REUTERS/File Photo ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. SOUTH KOREA OUT.

This undated picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on January 12, 2018 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) inspecting the State Academy of Sciences at an undisclosed location. / AFP PHOTO / KCNA VIA KNS / STR / South Korea OUT / REPUBLIC OF KOREA OUT ---EDITORS NOTE--- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS THIS PICTURE WAS MADE AVAILABLE BY A THIRD PARTY. AFP CAN NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, LOCATION, DATE AND CONTENT OF THIS IMAGE. THIS PHOTO IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY AFP. /

News

China

Diplomacy

Former Korean foreign minister says Xi Jinping could offer North Korean leader useful tips on dealing with unpredictable US President


North Korea

North Korea nuclear crisis

North Korea sanctions

Donald Trump

Kim Jong-un’s lack of diplomatic experience ‘may have prompted China visit’ to help prepare for Trump summit

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Former Korean foreign minister says Xi Jinping could offer North Korean leader useful tips on dealing with unpredictable US President

Former Korean foreign minister says Xi Jinping could offer North Korean leader useful tips on dealing with unpredictable US President