North Korea's Kim makes another trip to China. That complicates things for Trump.

[Eugene]

Source: Washington Post

North Korea’s Kim makes another trip to China. That complicates things for Trump.

By Emily Rauhala
June 19 at 9:05 AM

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Kim arrived on Tuesday for his third visit to China in the span of three months, meeting with President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, in the heart of Beijing.

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Though details are still scarce, the timing and staging of his trip sends a clear message about Beijing’s place at the center of East Asian diplomacy — and its power over Pyongyang.

With U.S.-China trade ties on the rocks, Kim is well positioned to play both powers, talking sweet to Trump while pursuing a closer relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“Although it seems there is a booming romance between Kim Jong Un and Trump, Kim understands the hierarchy. He knows that Xi is the Asian Godfather,” said Yanmei Xie, a China policy analyst at Gavekal Dragonomics, an economic research firm in Beijing.

“He is making a pragmatic calculation that China can provide economic assistance to integrate North Korea diplomatically and economically into Northeast Asia.”

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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/kim-jong-un-makes-third-visit-to-china/2018/06/18/671e4e48-7368-11e8-be2f-d40578877b7b_story.html

[Historic NY]

1. Kim see's China as a partner. Trumps blowing up trade with China.

The trade route from China to the NK is a hell of a lot shorter than it is from Trump imagined agreement.

[soryang]

2. This is the third time Kim has met Xi before expected meetings with Pompeo

Last edited Tue Jun 19, 2018, 07:53 PM - Edit history (1)

The suspension of the joint military exercises has put pressure on Kim to make a more substantive move in the denuclearization process. He went to China to get advice on a method of how to go forward with denuclearization. If he doesn't produce results in a timely manner, Trump will be forced to revert to the hard line and resume exercises. Kim has to give up something nuclear at this point. So the step by step confidence building measures are being tested and need to go forward. Whatever Kim comes up with, it needs to meet Chinese approval, or he will lose diplomatic support from Xi.