Xi's absence in Pyongyang complicates denuke dialogue

2024-10-23 03:19:43      点击：669

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, speaks to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Dalian in northeastern China's Liaoning Province, in this May 7 file photo. / AP-Yonhap

By Lee Min-hyung

With Chinese President Xi Jinping's reported Pyongyang visit this month canceled, expectations for smooth progress of North Korea's denuclearization has been brought back to square one.

On Tuesday, North Korean media outlets reported China's No. 3-ranked official, Li Zhanshu, will make a Pyongyang visit on Saturday as a special envoy of Xi.

Xi's non-attendance dampens erstwhile expectations that his visit may have served as a breakthrough to end the ongoing deadlock for denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

"Li will pay a visit to North Korea to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its founding," the regime's Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

"He will lead China's special delegation by visiting North Korea on Saturday," it said without elaborating how long the envoys will stay in the regime.

Last month, a sign of hope prevailed here that September will be a "month of opportunity" to resolve the stalled denuclearization progress, as Xi as well as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were reportedly planning to visit Pyongyang.

But Pompeo's planned Pyongyang visit fell through at a time when the U.S. and the North continue to engage in a war of words for failing to come to terms with details in their denuclearization dialogue.

The absences of Xi and Pompeo are expected to pose a growing burden for President Moon who plans to visit the regime's capital city sometime later this month for a summit with Kim Jong-un.

On Wednesday, Moon's special five-member envoy ― led by National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong ― visited Pyongyang to discuss the summit agenda and its timeline.

Nothing has been confirmed about whether they held a meeting with Kim Jong-un.

For this reason, Moon is holding the key to find a breakthrough in the ongoing political stalemate between Washington and Pyongyang.

During the upcoming summit, Moon is expected to play a mediating role by listening to Kim Jong-un's message about the progress of the ongoing denuclearization and delivering it to U.S. President Donald Trump.

It remains to be seen whether Kim will maintain his peace posture at a time when Washington-Pyongyang relations show little sign of progress since the historic June 12 summit between Trump and Kim.