China’s endorsement has strengthened Kim’s hand, while a second US summit could show his independence

Kim Jong-un has told Xi Jinping he wants a second meeting with Donald Trump and is committed to “achieving results” amid an impasse over denuclearisation, according to state media reports of their meeting in Beijing this week.

Kim told Xi that North Korea would “continue sticking to the stance of denuclearisation” and “make efforts for the second summit between the [North Korean] and US leaders to achieve results”, Chinese state media reported.

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The comments by Kim, who has just ended his fourth visit to China in the past 10 months, echo those he made in his New Year’s Day address, when he said he was ready to meet Trump “at any time”, but warned that the North could be forced to take a “new path” unless the US eased sanctions and made security guarantees.

China’s Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying that he supported further dialogue and hoped Pyongyang and Washington would “meet each other halfway”. The report did not elaborate, but North Korea-US talks have stalled over disagreements about which side should be the first to make concessions.

Mintaro Oba, a former US diplomat who focused on the Koreas, said Kim’s visit to Beijing “was one of a few recent signs that progress toward a second US-North Korea summit is getting serious.

“It clearly leaves both leaders, but especially Kim, in a stronger position. He can now negotiate with Washington having demonstrated that China supports his approach. And he will probably want to secure another US-North Korea summit even more now to offset the visit to China and show he is an independent actor with options, not a Chinese vassal.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The leaders shake hands in Beijing. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

“The Trump administration probably wasn’t surprised or annoyed by this visit given that there’s now a clear pattern of Kim Jong-un visiting China at critical moments. But there is a danger in the administration’s tendency to overestimate China’s power over North Korea and assume China influences all of the negative things Pyongyang does.”

North Korea has warned that denuclearisation could be put at risk unless the US eases sanctions, while the US insists the North must first demonstrate its commitment to abandoning nuclear weapons.

Details of Kim’s trip to China emerged as the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, predicted that a second summit between Kim and Trump would take place “soon”.

But in comments that could irritate Washington, Moon suggested he would push for sanctions exemptions to restore inter-Korean economic cooperation, including the reopening of the Kaesong industrial park. In his New Year’s address, Kim said he was ready to reopen the complex, which Seoul closed in 2016 in response to a North Korean rocket launch.

Moon said: “My administration will cooperate with the international community, including the United States, to resolve the remaining issues such as international sanctions as soon as possible.”

Kim’s visit to China – a permanent member of the UN security council – is also being seen as part of an effort to win Chinese support for reducing sanctions that were strengthened in response to a string of ballistic missile launches and a nuclear test in 2017.

Kim Hyun-wook, a professor at the Korea national diplomatic academy in Seoul, said China was unlikely to drop its “firm” support for international sanctions. Instead, he said, the focus of the Kim-Xi meeting was likely to have been on how China could facilitate economic reforms in North Korea.

Nevertheless, Kim Jong-un had used the meeting “to add to the pressure on Trump [to reduce sanctions] and to use China as back-up,” he added.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Xi Jinping’s endorsement of Kim Jong-un’s approach could serve North Korea well. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

“China is the only country that will be able to support economic reforms in North Korea once sanctions are lifted,” he said. “Kim will need Chinese support before he finally begins denuclearising North Korea. I think he will take some initial measures to denuclearise North Korea, after which the US will reciprocate with initial measures to lift sanctions.”

South Korea’s ambassador to the US, Cho Yoon-je, said Kim’s trip to China was “quite a good sign” that he and Trump would hold a second summit. Trump said at the weekend negotiations were underway on the location of his next meeting.

Speaking at the Hudson Institute in Washington on Wednesday, Cho said “the train is already on the move”. While the timing was unclear, he added: “But I don’t think it can be stopped or reversed, at least in the near future.”

Lu Chao, director of the Korea Research Center at the Liaoning Academy of Social Science, said the visit “shows the relationship is improving” and that North Korea views ties with Beijing as “one of its most significant diplomatic relationships”.

Using North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Lu added: “The only barrier is the nuclear issue. If the DPRK does not do as it has promised, then the disagreement continues.”