Before leaving, the North Korean leader had lunch with Xi Jinping. In the morning he visited a pharmaceutical company. Perhaps a meeting between Kim and Trump is being prepared. Or maybe China wants to deliver a "tamer" Kim to heal tensions with the United States.
Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is returning home after a four-day trip to Beijing. Yesterday, Kim met Chinese President Xi Jinping for talks. Several analysts think they were aimed at finding strategies for a future meeting between Kim and US President Donald Trump.
Other analysts think that China tries is trying to soften the polemical tones of Kim Jong-un to use the "tamed" leader as a bargaining chip in relations between Beijing and Washington, in an attempt to find a way out of the tariff war.
On January 7th Kim set off from Pyongyang, arriving in Beijing the following day, where he was welcomed by Xi a few hours later for an interview lasting over an hour. After the talks, Xi offered a dinner to celebrate the 35th birthday of the North Korean leader.
Kim visited a pharmaceutical company this morning, which also produces traditional medicines. Before leaving, he again had lunch with Xi.
This is Kim's fourth trip to China since he took power in 2011. Last year he visited Xi three times, before and after his historic meeting with Trump in Singapore. On that occasion, Kim had declared that he wanted to work for the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula in exchange for guarantees of security and reduction of UN and US sanctions.
In his New Year’s speech, he threatened to resume his nuclear projects if the US continues to maintain sanctions.