North Korea's Kim Visits China Again Committed To Diplomacy

As China hosts North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the next two day its foreign ministry says China is in full support of dialogue between its neighboring country and the United States.

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At a Tuesday night press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the government of Xi Jinping, has “always” been in favor of North Korea's dialogue with the U.S.

"China … has always maintained that (North Korea and the U.S.) are the crucial parts of the nuclear issue in Korean Peninsula. It's beneficial for both sides to keep in touch. Therefore, China always supports the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and the U.S. to continue their dialogs and achieve a positive result," said Lu to the press Tuesday.

Xi and Kim agreed that both of their own countries should communicate frequently with each other to continue strengthening diplomatic ties, according to Lu.

"Both China and the DPRK believe that it is necessary to strengthen strategic communication to promote steady development of bilateral relations, realize long-term peace and stability on Korean Peninsula, and make joint efforts to promote peace and prosperity in the region," recounted Lu.

The foreign ministry says it will release information about the specific outcomes from the meetings between the two heads of state in a timely manner.

On invite from Xi, Kim and his wife Ri Sol-ju arrived in China Tuesday, the same day that the North Korean leader’s trip was announced. The couple will stay in Beijing until Jan. 10.

"Undoubtedly, during his visit to China, Kim will have in-depth exchanges of views with Chinese leaders on deepening relations between the two countries and two parties as well as issues on international and regional peace of common concerns," said Lu.

China was where Kim made his first international appearance since taking office in 2011, heading there in a similar surprise visit last March. Two subsequent follow-up meetings took place in Beijing in 2018, making this Kim’s fourth visit to the Republic of China in less than a year.

Kim’s temporary stay comes as the U.S. State Department were recently scouting locations in Vietnam for President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader to meet for a second summit, according to CNBC.

The two presidents met last June in Singapore, signing a pledge meant to de-nuclearize the Korean peninsula.

Since June, North Korea has taken steps towards fulfilling its promise, namely dismantling its only known nuclear testing site and a key missile engine facility, though there have also been reports of continued activity at those facilities based on satellite images.

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During his New Year’s address, Kim reiterated his commitment to working to denuclearize the country and to keep up talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, but warned that he could be forced to take a “new path” if the North American nation continued to impose sanctions on his regime.

“We will have to explore a new path in order to protect our sovereignty  [If Washington] continues to break its promises and misjudges our patience by unilaterally demanding certain things and pushes ahead with sanctions and pressure without keeping its promise it made in front of the world,” Kim said on Jan. 1.

The North Korean government demands that the United States lift sanctions on its regime, and declare an official end to the 1950-53 Korean War. Additionally, it wants South Korea to stops conducting joint military drills with the United States.

On Sunday, after Trump said that his administration would soon announce a meeting date for he and Kim, the U.S. president  credited himself for the absence of war with North. Trump said Sunday that because of the June accord: "You would right now be in a nice, big fat war in Asia with North Korea if I wasn't elected president."