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

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

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

Lee Jeong-ho

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a strong signal of better economic ties with China in a visit that risks rattling the United States over Beijing’s growing influence on the Korean peninsula.
Kim inspected agricultural and construction sites in the northern county of Samjiyon on the border with China, North Korea’s KCNA news agency and Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Agriculture and tourism are two key areas of Sino-North Korean cooperation and the trip highlighted
Kim’s plans to revive his country’s economy through closer ties with its northern neighbour, observers said.
Kim underscored the county’s potential as a tourist hub and offered “field guidance” at Junghung Farm, stressing the need for both variety and efficiency in agriculture, according to KCNA.

On his trip to Beijing last month, Kim also visited the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
He was accompanied to Samjiyon by senior North Korean officials, including former Korean People’s Army vice-marshal Hwang Pyong-so and Jo Yong-won, from the Organisation and Guidance Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea, KCNA said.
He visited a cosmetics factory in the Sinuiju special economic zone, across the Yalu River from China’s port city Dandong, North Korean state media reported earlier this month.
How China can stay in the North Korea influence game
Won Hye-young, a South Korean lawmaker with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, said Kim’s Samjiyon trip could reflect a desire to strengthen economic relations with China via existing platforms.
“It’s a message directed at both domestic and foreign audiences that North Korea has moved on to an economy-first policy ... After all, Pyongyang must attract foreign capital to speed up its economic development,” Won said.
The visit comes amid concern in Washington about China’s influence over its neighbour. In a tweet on Monday, US President Donald Trump said: “I have confidence that Kim Jong-un will honour the contract we signed [and] even more importantly, our handshake. We agreed to the denuclearisation of North Korea.
“China, on the other hand, may be exerting negative pressure on a deal because of our posture on Chinese trade – hope not.”
Late last week, the North Korean foreign ministry said it regretted the US’s “gangster-like” demands on denuclearisation during Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Pyongyang.
Donald Trump says China may be pressuring North Korea on nuclear deal because of trade war
Won said the China factor would affect US-North Korea relations, but that did not mean the impact would be negative.
“There are concerns that the Sino-US trade war could have a negative influence on the North Korean issue, but the trade issue is not part of the denuclearisation talks,” he said.
“China-North Korea relations are not a substitute for US-North Korea relations. Survival of the Kim regime sits at the core of the denuclearisation issue and thus fundamentally it is the US and North Korea that must negotiate at the end of the day.”
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Tuesday that China’s position on North Korea was consistent and it acted in a responsible manner.


Is US ‘testing the waters’ with reported seizure of Chinese cargo bound for Iran?

What North Korea’s war dead tribute reveals about Kim’s endgame

Martial law plot was Yoon’s plan all along, South Korean prosecutors say

Kim’s sister spotted with suspected luxury Chinese foldable phone

North Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un heads back to China border on economy-first mission

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (centre) inspects a farm in the northern county of Samjiyon. Photo: KCNA

(180710) -- PYONGYANG, July 10, 2018 (Xinhua) -- Photo provided by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 10, 2018 shows Kim Jong Un (C), top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), inspecting a construction site at Samjiyon County of DPRK's northern Mount Paektu region. The top leader of the DPRK, Kim Jong Un, called for the construction of a modern county in the mountainous area, according to Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) Tuesday. (Xinhua/KCNA) (jmmn)

News

China

Diplomacy

Asia

East Asia

Signs of closer ties between Beijing and Pyongyang as Washington wary of China’s influence on the Korean peninsula


Kim Jong-un

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un heads back to China border on economy-first mission

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Signs of closer ties between Beijing and Pyongyang as Washington wary of China’s influence on the Korean peninsula

Signs of closer ties between Beijing and Pyongyang as Washington wary of China’s influence on the Korean peninsula