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US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping during their summit in the US on Apr. 6.

Amid rising speculation about a crisis on the Korean Peninsula this month, which includes North Korea’s Day of the Sun (the birthday of founding leader Kim Il-sung) on Apr. 15 and Korean People’s Army Foundation Day on Apr. 25, China has been emphasizing its role in managing issues on the Korean Peninsula by urging North Korea to exercise “restraint” and praising the US for its “patience.”

“The leaders of China and the US spoke on the phone before the 105th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung on Apr. 15 and the 85th anniversary of the foundation of the Korean People’s Army on Apr. 25, which helped the two countries clarify ongoing developments, discuss methods of crisis management and prevent affairs from getting out of hand,” said a column on the front page of the Apr. 25 issue of the overseas edition of the People’s Daily, the official organ of the Communist Party of China. The column emphasized that China had been working overtime for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and for the peace and stability of the region.

“The Trump administration may have announced the end of ‘strategic patience,’ but it has shown impressive patience in diplomacy. By pursuing engagement that is much closer to China’s desire for peace, the danger appears to have been significantly reduced,” the state-run China Daily said in an editorial on Apr. 25. In the editorial, the paper called for restraint, noting that tensions would be heightened again if North Korea carries out another nuclear test, which is expected to trigger an even tougher resolution from the UN Security Council. “North Korea’s policymakers have misread the UN Security Council’s resolutions. The resolutions are not aimed at the regime or the leadership but rather have to do with nuclear weapons and missiles,” the editorial said. By calling for North Korea to reassess the situation and for the US to continue exercising restraint, the editorial conveys China’s desire to play the proactive role of mediator.

With attention focusing on whether China will turn off the pipes that supply petroleum to North Korea as a form of sanctions against Pyongyang, the Chinese media reported on the difficulty of buying gasoline at gas stations in Pyongyang. In an article from Pyongyang on Apr. 25, the Global Times reported that gas stations that serve the diplomatic corps were only allowing diplomats’ vehicles to fill up, while some gas stations were only serving customers who had a ticket purchased in advance. Some gas stations have even closed. The Associated Press also reported on Apr. 22 about a reduction in the supply of gasoline in Pyongyang. The sale of gasoline was being restricted, AP said, causing gas prices to soar. But reports are not clear on whether this is because China has actually reduced its supply of petroleum, whether North Korea is stocking up on petroleum to prepare for an emergency or whether demand has spiked because of panic buying.

In a related story, Air China, which abruptly announced on Apr. 14 that it was suspending flight service between Beijing and Pyongyang, will be resuming service on May 5, Kyodo News reported on Apr. 24. While the suspension of service to Pyongyang was seen as one of the clearest signs of China intensifying its sanctions against North Korea, both the airline and the Chinese government have explained that the decision was based on operational considerations and market conditions.

By Kim Oi-hyun, Beijing correspondent

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