Xi Given Lavish Welcome in North Korea 06/08 06:02

   Chinese President Xi Jinping received a lavish welcome as he arrived in 
North Korea on Monday for a rare visit expected to focus on reasserting China's 
unique influence over the North in return for providing economic and political 
benefits.

   SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping received a lavish 
welcome as he arrived in North Korea on Monday for a rare visit expected to 
focus on reasserting China's unique influence over the North in return for 
providing economic and political benefits.

   China's Xinhua News Agency reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and 
his wife Ri Sol Ju welcomed Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan upon their arrival at 
Pyongyang's international airport. Xinhua said the two leaders shook hands.

   Xi later arrived at Pyongyang's main square, where a military honor guard 
and thousands of people, including children carrying balloons and hopping, 
staged a welcoming ceremony. Buildings surrounding the plaza were draped in the 
two countries' flags, giant portraits of Kim and Xi and red-and-yellow banners 
welcoming the Chinese leader and celebrating the nations' "friendship and 
unity."

   Xi and Kim later sat down for a summit at Pyongyang's Kumsusan State 
Guesthouse, according to China's state broadcaster CCTV. It's Xi's first visit 
to North Korea in seven years. Xi and Kim last met in Beijing in September, 
after viewing a military parade alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and 
other foreign leaders.

   No specific agenda has been mentioned. Foreign experts predict the meeting 
will have big ramifications on bilateral ties and beyond, as they both seek to 
fully restore their traditional alliance in the face of separate confrontations 
with the U.S.

   "A Chinese leader doesn't just visit North Korea because a visit is due. 
Xi's trip will have real implications for China-DPRK relations," said Leif-Eric 
Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, using the abbreviation 
for North Korea's full name.

   Sway over North Korea could help Xi's dealings with US

   Xi's trip comes after his back-to-back summits with U.S. President Donald 
Trump and Putin in Beijing last month. Xi is expected to meet Trump again on a 
planned U.S. visit in September.

   Xi will try to demonstrate China's "sway over the Korean Peninsula" and "a 
leadership role in entire Northeast Asia in the ages of strategic competitions 
with the U.S.," said Kwak Gil Sup, the head of One Korea Center, a website 
specializing in North Korea affairs.

   China has long been North Korea's economic lifeline and main diplomatic 
backer. Experts say China has avoided fully enforcing U.N. sanctions on North 
Korea and sent clandestine aid to help its impoverished neighbor stay afloat. 
This year marks 65 years since the two countries signed a mutual defense treaty.

   But there have been questions about their ties in recent years, with North 
Korea prioritizing cooperation with Russia by supplying troops and weapons to 
support its war against Ukraine. In return, North Korea has received economic 
and military assistance from Russia.

   Restoring an exclusive influence over North Korea would give Xi a leverage 
in dealings with Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his desire to restart 
diplomacy with Kim, experts say.

   "Implementing U.N. Security Council resolutions and enforcing sanctions do 
not appear to be priorities for China," Easley said.

   In an article published on the North's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper Monday, 
Xi said China and North Korea must boost strategic cooperation and work 
together to oppose "hegemonism and coercive politics" and pursue an orderly 
multipolar world.

   Kim needs Xi's support for his push for nuclear state

   Xi would likely offer Kim economic aid packages such as shipments of rice 
and fertilizers, a resumption of Chinese group tourism to North Korea. and 
joint economic projects, analysts said.

   "North Korea can't solely rely on Russia. It needs to align with China," 
Kwak said.

   In a Monday editorial, the Rodong Sinmun newspaper called Xi "the most 
honored state guest," saying Pyongyang's streets "are filled with an atmosphere 
of friendship."

   Xi could also refrain from pressing Kim on the issue of denuclearization of 
North Korea, and vaguely speak about peace and stability on the Korean 
Peninsula. That would be essential for Kim, who is desperate to win 
international recognition as a nuclear weapons state as a way to call for 
lifting of U.N. sanctions on North Korea.

   "Chinese officials have taken the position of not speaking publicly about 
denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula while still maintaining it as a 
long-term goal. Kim appears to want Xi to accept North Korea as a nuclear 
neighbor," Easley said.

   After last month's summit between Trump and Xi, the White House said the two 
leaders confirmed their shared goal to denuclearize North Korea. But China only 
said the leaders discussed the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. On 
Sunday, Kim's sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, dismissed as "false 
information" the U.S. readout of the Xi-Trump meeting.

   Last week, Kim unveiled a new plant to produce nuclear ingredients and vowed 
to bolster the country's nuclear forces "at an exponential rate." He also 
observed sea trials of a new naval destroyer and called for speeding up efforts 
to build a nuclear-armed navy.

   South Korean President Lee Jae Myung told reporters Monday that North Korea 
is producing enough nuclear ingredients annually for about 10-20 bombs and is 
close to perfecting intercontinental ballistic missile technology. Lee said the 
world must first focus on convincing North Korea to freeze its nuclear 
materials production and ICBM program as a short-term goal.

   On Sunday, Kim's sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, echoed her 
brother, calling a U.S. push for the denuclearization of North Korea an 
"escapist and anachronistic dream."

   Kim Jong Un has rebuffed U.S. and South Korean offers for talks and focused 
on enlarging and modernizing his nuclear arsenal since his high-stakes 
diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019. The North Korean leader said in 
September that he still had "good personal memories" of Trump but urged the 
U.S. to withdraw its demand for North Korea to denuclearize as a precondition 
for resuming diplomacy.

   Experts say Kim would eventually want arms reductions talks with the U.S. to 
win concessions in return for partially surrendering his nuclear weapons.