Kim Jong-un arrives in Beijing: it's the third visit since March

The historic alliance and protection of China towards North Korea is reiterated. Kim aims to lighten the sanctions. Washington: first complete denuclearization is needed. Seoul asks for "substantial steps". Joint military exercise between South Korea and the US scheduled for August, suspended.

Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Kim Jong-un arrived in China for the third visit, a week after the historic summit with Donald Trump. The Chinese media gave news of his arrival, but there is still no confirmation from the official sources of the two countries.

For the first time, the Chinese media report Kim's visit while the North Korean leader is in the country: previously, the news was only released after his return to North Korea. According to the CCTV, Kim landed this morning in Beijing, where he will stay until tomorrow. There are no details on the agenda of the meeting. It is likely that the summit and the close agreement between North Korea and the US will be at the center of the discussions.

The third visit of Kim in just three months strengthens the link between the two countries and underlines the protection that Beijing extends over Pyongyang. According to many observers, North Korea seeks the support of the historic Chinese ally to obtain the easing of sanctions in force since last September. This is a possibility that Beijing has previously hypothesized, but on which there is no agreement on the South Korean and American front. Last week, Mike Pompeo - US Secretary of State - said that the punitive measures will be loosened only after the complete denuclearization of the peninsula. For its part, Seoul predicts that they will remain in force until "substantial steps" are taken in that direction.

However, new signs of detente are coming from the White House and the Blue House (residence of the South Korean president): the suspension of the joint military exercise scheduled for next August has been confirmed. North Korea has always defined the military trials of South Korea and the US as a "provocation".

• china
• north korea
• xi jinping
• kim jong-un
• visit
• summit
• kim-trump agreement