hankyoreh

head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee and politburo member

By Park Min-hee, Beijing correspondent and Kim Kyu-won, staff reporter

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was given a signed personal letter on Nov. 30 from Xi Jinping during a meeting in Pyongyang with Communist Party of China Politburo member and National People's Congress vice-chairman Liu Qibao.

North Korea's Korean Central Television and China's Xinhua news agency reported that Liu conveyed a message from Xi, the new leader of China, saying that it was the "strong determination of the new Communist Party of China leadership to solidify and develop the traditional friendly relations" between China and North Korea.


This was the first senior-level meeting between Beijing and Pyongyang since the new Xi regime came into office. Analysts said it showed Xi’s regime plans to maintain the traditional friendship with North Korea.

KCTV and other North Korean news outlets reported that Kim was given a letter and a gift from Xi by the CPC delegation. Neither the North Korean nor the Chinese press mentioned any specifics about the contents of the letter.

Xi may also have extended an invitation for Kim to visit China or conveyed concern about North Korea’s recent rocket launch preparations. After offering his congratulations on Xi's appointment at the meeting, Kim went on to say he believed the Chinese people would "score an even greater victory in carrying through the spirit of the 18th Party Congress under a Communist Party of China leadership headed by Xi Jinping."

It was Kim's first meeting with a foreign delegation as North Korean leader since an August visit by the Chinese Communist Party International Liaison Department chief Wang Jiarui.

Among those attending the meeting on the North Korean side were Workers' Party of Korea secretaries Kim Ki-nam and Kim Yang-gon and WPK international affairs department deputy director Kim Song-nam.

From China, Wang was present again, along with Central Propaganda Department vice minister Wang Xiaohui, CCP publicity department deputy director Liu Jieyi, and ambassador to North Korea Liu Hongcai.

Sungkonghoe University professor Lee Nam-joo said North Korea and China have typically exchanged visits after major political events to explain what happened.

"I don't imagine there was anything specific about North Korea's missiles or nuclear program stated at the meeting, other than China's basic position supporting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," Lee said.

University of North Korean Studies professor Yang Mu-jin raised the possibility that Xi's letter may have included a delicately worded request that Pyongyang refrain from launching its rocket, which observers see a roughly 70% likelihood of.

"I think we're going to see a China visit by Kim Jong-un as early as the end of this year, and no later than early next year," Yang said.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]