Trump's Post-APEC Pyongyang Visit Speculation Grows Amid Diplomatic Moves
The Chosun Ilbo · Lee Beul-chan ·
Trumps Post-APEC Pyongyang Visit Speculation Grows Amid Diplomatic Moves Experts suggest summit possibility after Shenzhen summit, citing North Korea-China talks and mutual strategic interests
“A meeting between the North Korean and U.S. leaders cannot be ruled out immediately after the APEC summit in Shenzhen.”
Wang Yiwei, a professor at Renmin University’s School of International Relations and a former Chinese diplomat, told this newspaper on the 6th that “whether U.S. President Donald Trump will visit Pyongyang remains to be seen until the last moment.” He suggested that Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could hold an unexpected meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen on the 18th–19th. Wang had previously told Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao, “Trump and Kim Jong-un need each other, and China welcomes their reunion (樂見其成).” Wang, who served as a Chinese diplomat to the European Union and currently holds positions as vice president of the Xi Jinping Thought Research Institute and director of the International Affairs Research Institute at Renmin University, is a diplomatic expert with close ties to Chinese authorities. His public mention of China’s positive stance on a North Korea–U.S. summit is unusual.
The recent surge in high-level contacts between North Korea and China has also drawn attention in relation to the possibility of a North Korea–U.S. summit. On the 24th of last month (October 24), Kim Jong-un made a surprise visit to Dandong, China, to meet Wang Huning, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and a top-ranking official (ranked fourth in the party hierarchy). Wang, known as “Xi Jinping’s strategist,” has been deeply involved in exchanges between North Korea–China and U.S.–China leaders and recently gained influence in the disciplinary system, a core power structure in China. This raises the possibility that Kim Jong-un used the meeting with Wang to gauge China’s intentions regarding a potential North Korea–U.S. summit and discuss the outcomes of the U.S.–China summit and negotiations with the U.S. Kim Sung-nam, a North Korean diplomat specializing in Chinese affairs who accompanied Kim Jong-un to Dandong, revisited Beijing on the 5th (November 5) to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. A delegation from the Chinese Central Party School also visited Pyongyang starting on the 2nd (November 2), indicating that diplomatic channels between the two countries are actively operating.
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