Xi’s visit to North Korea will be the first by a Chinese president in 14 tears. The trip will take place just before Xi and Trump travel to Japan for the G20 summit. Mgr Lazarus You calls for "building fraternal relations of trust between peoples".
Seoul (AsiaNews) – Chinese president Xi Jinping will travel to North Korea on Thursday on a two-day visit, state media announced yesterday.
The Chinese leader will meet North Korean strongman Kim Jong-un to discuss the problems facing the Korean Peninsula. This will be the first visit to North Korea by a Chinese head of state in 14 years.
Kim has visited China four times, but no Chinese president has visited Pyongyang since Hu Jintao was hosted by Kim Jong-il, the father of the current leader, in 2005.
The trip will take place just before Xi and US President Donald Trump travel to Osaka (Japan) for the G20 summit.
According to some analysts, the Chinese leader is trying to use his influence in the North Korean nuclear issue as a leverage in trade negotiations with the US.
To back this view, observers note the current stalemate in talks over North Korea’s denuclearisation and the easing of the economic sanctions imposed by Washington.
North Korea and the US have not held talks at the operational level since Trump and Kim ended their second summit last February without reaching an agreement.
In addition to political relations between the leaders of nations and resolving the Korean question. "it is necessary to build fraternal relations of trust between peoples," said Mgr Lazarus You Heung-sik, bishop of Daejeon and president of the Social Affairs Commission of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea (CBCK).
Speaking to AsiaNews, the prelate noted that "The Church in the South is always ready to support and help our brothers in the North".
South Korean bishops have welcomed the latest humanitarian initiatives by South Korea in favour of the North Korean population, affected by a serious food emergency.
On 5 June, the government of South Korean President Moon Jae-in approved a plan to send US $ 8 million in aid through international agencies.