Breakthrough or False Promise? China Claims Kim Jong Un Has Agreed to Denuclearize Korean Peninsula
President Donald Trump is reacting to the news that Chinese President Xi Jinping secretly met with North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un, who suggested denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was possible.
"The issue of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula can be resolved – if South Korea and the United States respond to our efforts with goodwill, create an atmosphere of peace and stability while taking progressive and synchronous measures for the realization of peace," the North Korean leader said.
Trump responded to the news, tweeting:
Received message last night from XI JINPING of China that his meeting with KIM JONG UN went very well and that KIM looks forward to his meeting with me. In the meantime, and unfortunately, maximum sanctions and pressure must be maintained at all cost!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2018
The secret talks took place at the Great Hall of the People in China ahead of an anticipated meeting between Kim and Trump.
For years and through many administrations, everyone said that peace and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was not even a small possibility. Now there is a good chance that Kim Jong Un will do what is right for his people and for humanity. Look forward to our meeting!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2018
China said on Wednesday it won the pledge from the North Korean dictator to denuclearize the peninsula during a meeting with President Xi, who pledged in return that China would uphold its friendship with its isolated neighbor.
"It is our consistent stand to be committed to denuclearization on the peninsula, in accordance with the will of late President Kim Il Sung and late General Secretary Kim Jong Il," Kim said, according to Xinhua.
The meeting comes as a surprise to most since China, who remains North Korea's major ally, supported tougher UN sanctions against the rogue regime.
Meanwhile, there are skeptics who doubt the North's sincerity, including newly appointed National Security Advisor John Bolton, who has harshly criticized the regime in the past.
"Question – How do you know that the North Korean regime is lying? Answer – their lips are moving," Bolton said.
North Korea conducted its most powerful nuclear test to date last year, plus three missiles that could hit the US mainland. And new commercial imagery out this week shows it has resumed plutonium production, likely for its nuclear program
Senior White House officials say no date nor location for the once unthinkable Trump-Kim summit has been selected.
It appears direct contact with the North Korean government still has not occurred since Trump accepted Kim's invitation for face-to-face meetings 20 days ago.
