North Korea’s Kim likely urged China not to raise denuclearization during visit, says South’s unification minister

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, holds hands in greeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping before the Victory Day parade in Beijing on Sept. 3. [NEWS1]

 
South Korea’s unification minister said Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un likely urged Beijing not to raise the issue of denuclearization during his recent visit to China.
 
Appearing before a parliamentary committee, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Kim’s presence at the 80th anniversary of China’s Victory Day signaled confidence.  
 
“North Korea sees standing alongside Presidents Putin and Xi as a major diplomatic achievement,” he said.
 
Chung stressed that Pyongyang’s participation reflected its self-image as a nuclear state with a sizable arsenal. He added that the event highlighted the limits of international sanctions, which he said had “failed to work effectively” over the past two decades.
 
Kim and Xi’s summit on Sept. 4 was the first in more than six years. The joint statement omitted explicit mention of denuclearization, a sharp contrast to earlier meetings. Instead, Beijing emphasized its “three principles” for the Korean Peninsula, while Kim pledged support for China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity — remarks that Chung said amounted to tacit backing for a potential invasion of Taiwan.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY BAE JAE-SUNG [[email protected]]