North Korea-China Summit

[Anchor Lead]

At the fourth bilateral summit, the North Korean and Chinese leaders showed their expectations for a second summit between Pyongyang and Washington. North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un said that he will do his best to produce an outcome that the international community would approve of.

[Pkg]

The top agendas for the first North Korea-China summit of this year included the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a second summit between Pyongyang and Washington. A North Korean news outlet reported that the two countries agreed on a peaceful resolution of nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula and that their leaders discussed ways to jointly coordinate their efforts.

[Soundbite] N. Korea’s Korean Central TV : "Communicated in an in-depth and frank manner about jointly studying and coordinating the political situation as well as denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula."

The Chinese media also reported that President Xi Jinping supported the direction the denuclearization talks and the second North Korea-U.S. summit were going in. North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un has reportedly said that he will work hard to produce an outcome at the summit that the international community would approve. His remarks suggest that North Korea may have been guaranteed of a safety shield by the Chinese president and may meet halfway with the United States' demand for denuclearization before the removal of sanctions.

[Soundbite] Prof. Lim Eul-chul(Institute for Far Eastern Studies, Kyungnam Nat'l Univ.) : "Chairman Kim is likely to have expressed his commitment for advanced denuclearization and China probably promised appropriate economic cooperation."

The North Korean media also reported that Chairman Kim talked about the challenges and concerns associated with the denuclearization talks and that President Xi agreed that those issues should be addressed. It appears that China related to North Korea's demand for the easing of sanctions, but it is still unclear how committed China is in supporting North Korea's position. While the North Korean news outlet said that President Xi accepted Chairman Kim's invitation to visit North Korea, the Chinese media omitted this item, implying that Beijing may be conscious of Washington's criticism that China is influencing North Korea's actions.