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The front-page column written by Chinese President Xi Jinping published by the Rodong Sinmun

A column in which Chinese President Xi Jinping personally expressed the significance of his visit to North Korea on June 20–21 was printed on the front page of the June 19 edition of the Rodong Sinmun, the official organ of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK). This was the first time the Rodong Sinmun printed a column by a visiting Chinese leader in the 70-year diplomatic relationships between North Korea and China. The newspaper had previously printed a statement by Jiang Zemin upon his arrival in Pyongyang (page two, Sept. 4, 2001) and a written message by Hu Jintao when he reached the city (page two, Oct. 29, 2005), but this was the full-length column by a Chinese leader.

Xi’s column is divided into a message for the international community and a message for North Koreans. Xi informed the international community that he would “open a new chapter” in the process of building peace on the Korean Peninsula, including the issue of denuclearization. Xi also offered his full-fledged support for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un by using the unprecedented format of a column in the Rodong Sinmun to characterize Kim’s domestic and foreign policy as being “legitimate” despite the breakdown of talks at the North Korea-US summit in Hanoi. Xi is creating the atmosphere needed for Kim to make a bold move.

“The key here is Xi’s determination to reassure North Korea and to make progress toward solving the nuclear issue. This is a positive signal,” said a former high-ranking official in the South Korean government.

“We will open a new chapter for the peace and stability of the region. I’m willing to draft a great plan to achieve permanent stability in the region along with my comrades in North Korea,” Xi said. The reference to “permanent stability in the region” is synonymous with the “permanent and solid peace regime on the Korean Peninsula” mentioned in the Panmunjom Declaration on Apr. 27, 2018.

To be sure, Xi added that he “supports resolving North Korea’s legitimate interests through dialogue” just as he did during the fourth China-North Korea summit in Beijing on Jan. 7–10, indicating that China won’t take any action on its own.

“Broadly speaking, ‘legitimate interests’ refers to a security [guarantee] for the regime; narrowly speaking, it refers to [easing or lifting] sanctions,” said Lee Hui-ok, a professor at Sungkyunkwan University and director of the Sungkyun Institute of China Studies.

Xi also expressed his willingness to cooperate with other countries in Northeast Asia. “I will actively contribute to the peace and stability of the region and to its development and prosperity by jointly pushing for progress in dialogue and negotiations about the Korean Peninsula issue with North Korea and other relevant parties,” he said.

In a column that ran for 548 words, including the title, Xi didn’t use the word “denuclearization” even once. When Song Tao, head of the International Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China, announced Xi’s visit to North Korea on June 17, he underlined that China continues to advocate the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Some striking phrases in Xi’s column include that “China-North Korea relations have reached a historic starting point” and that “we will draw up good blueprints for China-North Korean relations and move in the direction of developing China-North Korea relations.” As grounds for “firm China-North Korea relations,” Song Tao cited “geographical proximity and political amity” as well as “amity between our peoples” and “economic complementarity.” “Economic complementarity” is worth noting, since this was the first time the phrase has been publicly used.

“This appears to emphasize the need to adjust bilateral relations to a new paradigm, since China is further accelerating reform and opening and since North Korea has also decided to commit itself to building its economy,” said Yang Gap-yong, a senior analyst at the Institute for National Security Strategy in Seoul.

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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