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Chinese special envoy Song Tao (second from left) meets with Choi Ryong-hae

Song Tao, chief of the International Liaison Department for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has met with several top North Korean leaders while visiting North Korea as a special envoy for Chinese President Xi Jinping. But as of late afternoon on Nov. 19, there were no reports of him meeting with leader Kim Jong-un, the main focus of attention during his visit.

APTN video footage showed Song visiting the Sino-Korean Friendship Tower in Pyongyang’s Moranbong district on Nov. 19 and making a flower offering and paying respects at the fallen Chinese soldiers’ cemetery in Hoechang, South Pyongan Province. The cemetery is a final resting place for Chinese soldiers who died during the Korean War, including Mao Zedong’s oldest son Mao Anying. It is also seen as a symbol of the “blood alliance” between China and North Korea.

After arriving in North Korea around midday on Nov. 17, Song met with the Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP), Choe Ryong-hae, at [Pyongyang’s] Mansudae Assembly Hall to “report on specifics” from the 19th CCP National Congress on Oct. 19, North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. In a separate article, the KCNA reported that Song had presented a gift for Kim Jong-un during the meeting, but did not specify the type of gift.

Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers’ Party at the Mansudae Assembly in Pyongyang on Nov. 17. (taken from the Chinese Communist Party International Liaison Department website)

Song also met with Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers’ Party Ri Su-yong on Nov. 18 to share opinions on issues affecting the Korean Peninsula and region, bilateral ties, and other matters of shared interest, the KCNA said. The Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported that Song’s delegation attended a KWP-organized banquet with Ri the same day. Also on Nov. 18, Song paid visits to Mangyongdae Revolution School - an elite educational institution in North Korea - and the Ryuwon Footwear Factory, where Kim gave on-the-spot guidance in October after recent renovations.

Chinese state-run media similarly shared news on Song’s activities, but restricted coverage to reprinting announcements by the International Liaison Department. Internal guidelines reportedly instruct Chinese media not to deviate from the official position of authorities in the Xinhua news agency’s covering when reporting on North Korea-related issues.

Song’s visit to North Korea is drawing attention for coming amid a chill in Pyongyang-Beijing relations after North Korea’s recent nuclear and missile tests and resulting sanctions by the international community. Many are especially interested in whether Song meets with Kim Jong-un – as has been the precedent with Chinese special envoys in the past – and makes headway toward restoring relations and addressing the nuclear issue.

“Neither China nor [North Korea] wants the other to view it as an old enemy. Song Tao’s visit symbolizes a thaw in a freezing point situation that has persisted for the last year,” Renmin University of China professor Shi Yinhong told the Lianhe Zaobao newspaper.

“The threat of war on the [Korean] Peninsula is already at a level never seen in the past, and it has China also sensing the need to mitigate the situation,” Shi said.

Many are cautioning against expecting too much. A Nov. 18 editorial in the Global Times stressed that Song “is not a magician” and that the “key to whether the [Korean] Peninsula situation relaxes lies in the hands of the US and [North Korea].”

“China is an important part of the resolution of the [North Korean] nuclear issue, but not a decisive one,” it argued.

East China Normal University professor and North Korea-China relations expert Shen Zhihua told the South China Morning Post that Beijing has “limited influence” on Pyongyang.

“The foundation of their political alliance has already been dismantled. The strong trust between the two no longer exists,” Shen said.

The message suggests Song’s visit holds little significance beyond an example of traditional practice.

By Kim Oi-hyun, Beijing correspondent

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