China-North Korea summit opens way for nuclear talks

Subject

The first summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un.

Significance

On March 26-27 Kim Jong-un, North Korea's supreme leader, paid an unexpected two-day visit to Beijing for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The visit's goal was to secure Chinese support for the coming summits with the presidents of South Korea and the United States and to soften up the hard-line stance China has taken towards North Korea over the past year.

Impacts

• Pyongyang will pay lip service to eventual denuclearisation, but keep at least some of its arsenal under any conditions.
• Pyongyang's rejection of US demands for immediate and complete denuclearisation could lead to a new, more dangerous, nuclear crisis.
• Trade-related tensions between Washington and Beijing work in Pyongyang's favour.