Friday, May 18, 2018

Is China Trying To Sabotage The Korean Peace Talks?

President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping arrive at a state dinner at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on November 9, 2017. On Thursday, Trump said that Xi “could be influencing” Kim Jong Un after the North Korean leader threatened to call off the highly anticipated Singapore summit. Reuters

SCMP/Bloomberg: Donald Trump says North Korea could have been ‘influenced’ by Xi Jinping to turn on US ahead of talks with Kim Jong-un

North Korea has threatened to pull out of the June 12 talks between Trump and Kim earlier this week, and Trump says he believes Chinese President Xi may be involved

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Chinese President Xi Jinping “could be influencing” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after Kim’s regime abruptly shifted to a sharp, negative tone this week, calling off a summit with South Korea and threatening to drop a planned June meeting between Trump and Kim.

“If you remember two weeks ago, all of a sudden out of nowhere Kim Jong-un went to China to say hello again – second time – to President Xi,” Trump told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, referring to a May 8 meeting between the leaders.

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WNU Editor: I have been thinking about China's role in all of this for the past two days .... and someone else commented on it last night on this blog. But I have not seen any evidence that China is edging North Korea to play hardball in its talks with South Korea and the U.S.. But having said that, I will admit that when it comes to China .... I am the first to say that we should never discount anything.

More News On President Trump's Remarks That China May Be Influencing North Korea To Distance Itself From The Current Talks

Trump Blames His ‘Friend’ Xi Jinping for North Korea’s Threat to Cancel Face-to-Face Summit -- Newsweek
Donald Trump blames China for North Korea’s threat to cancel face-to-face meeting -- The Telegraph
Trump says China may be egging on North Korea’s insults -- Sydney Morning Herald
Is Xi Jinping the puppetmaster behind North Korea's pushback on talks? -- CNN

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

maybe yes/maybe no

Anonymous said...

If this work for a summit is a head fake, the North Korean's didn't do it without Chinese approval.

If the intentions of the DRPK to hold a summit are due to Trump's pressure then Kim walking away from it can only be due to Chinese re-assurances, much like Iran is getting. I see no prospect Kim goes for negotiations unless the pressure on him was the worst he's ever experienced.

Either way, China is deeply involved.

Anonymous said...

North Korea mood swings correlate with ZTE survival. When NK was for denuclerazation was when Trump admitted to help ZTE survive. When democrats cane in and said we will pursue ZTE in its malpactice NK became distant again. Props to Trump for finally entering the trade game. Thats what politics and capitalism are. Just hope he and his team know what they're doing and not walking on a landmine without detection

jimbrown said...

Time is sabotaging this meeting. Rocketman is reading the press and analysis and feels stupid.

Anonymous said...

Of course China is meddling. They are vehemently opposed against a reunification under a western prosperity model. Remember, the US promises western financial help to make the north as rich as the south. This is dollar imperialism peppered with western values to China...potentially resulting in a sudden pro-west regime that's dependent to some extend on the mercy of the US. The Chinese must stop it. It's just the reality of politics at the moment. Kim knows he can sell his loyalty to the highest bidder now. China offers him protection against the west and that he can keep some of his nukes,as long as he stops provoking the US..and of course a lot of money. We're talking hundreds of billions in shadow money and around a trillion in aid. That's the price tag in real politics. Kim knows it. Xi knows it. And Bolton/Pompeo/Trump know it.