China has signaled its readiness to help organize a meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The summit could potentially take place in November during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, South China Morning Post reports, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation.
Possible summit in Shenzhen
According to the publication, Beijing is playing an active and constructive role in efforts to restore diplomatic contacts between the United States and North Korea. One SCMP source suggested that a meeting between Trump and Kim Jong Un could take place on the sidelines of the November APEC summit in Shenzhen.
Last month, a US envoy visited Shenzhen and Hangzhou as part of a preparatory trip, SCMP claims. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last month declined to comment directly on Beijing’s possible mediation, saying that North Korea and the United States should decide on the summit.
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Pyongyang’s position
Wang Yi also said that China seeks to promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and that the United States should abandon its long-standing hostile policy toward North Korea.
As the publication writes, Kim Jong Un may demand a high price for the meeting, including sanctions relief and US recognition of North Korea’s nuclear status. The North Korean leader has so far rejected US proposals for contact, including after Trump last month reduced the scale of US-South Korean military exercises.
Trump and Kim Jong Un have already met three times during Trump’s first presidential term. The last of these meetings was impromptu and took place in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. Afterward, the sides held bilateral talks in Stockholm, which ended without results after eight hours.
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