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By Choi Hyun-june, staff reporter

With a chill lingering between high-ranking political figures in North Korea and China, interest is growing about when North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will visit China. While nearly three years have passed since Kim came to power, he has yet to meet Xi Jinping, president of North Korea’s ally China. Furthermore, Xi broke with precedent in early July when he visited South Korea before the North, which must have been hard for North Korea to stomach.

Some experts are saying that China will allow Kim Jong-un to visit China within the year. From China‘s perspective, it has done all that it can for South Korea, and now could feel that it is time to pay some attention to North Korea according to the diplomatic principle of equal distance that China applies to South and North. Not only that, but China is surely aware that North Korea’s strategic value is increasing as the US accelerates efforts to forge a joint security framework between the US, South Korea, and Japan.

However, a considerable number of experts remain skeptical about the possibility of Kim visiting China this year. Considering the current poor state of relations between North Korea and China, particularly regarding North Korea’s nuclear program, it is unlikely that Kim will visit China.

“If North Korea carries out a nuclear test after China holds a summit with it, China will find itself in a humiliating situation. It is unlikely that the two leaders will meet before some kind of agreement is reached on this point, and it will not be easy for either side to reach such an agreement,” said Lee Nam-ju, professor at Sungkonghoe University.

Some observers also believe that North Korea’s aggressive efforts to improve relations with South Korea - promising to send a large team of athletes and cheerleaders to the Incheon Asian Games and releasing a statement from the “government of the republic” - were prompted by China.

“One of Kim Jong-un’s main desires is to visit China. North Korea’s recent efforts to improve ties with South Korea could be in response to Chinese demands,” said a senior official at the Unification Ministry, on condition of anonymity. The suggestion is that, while North Korea draws the line on the issue of nuclear weapons, it is showing its sincerity about China’s other demand, stable relations with South Korea. As a result, it appears that the question of when - and if - Kim Jong-un will visit China will ultimately be decided by how much progress is made in inter-Korean relations and the issue of North Korea nuclear weapons.

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