US Secretary of Defense James Mattis yesterday arrived in Beijing for meetings with senior Chinese leaders, as the world waits for indications that North Korea is taking steps to dismantle its nuclear program following the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The North Korean negotiations are expected to be a primary discussion during Mattis’ meetings in China. Beijing is considered a key influencer on Pyongyang and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) said last week that China would “as always play a constructive role” in the process.
Kim was in Beijing for a two-day visit last week and met with Xi. The Chinese president said at the time that he hoped that Pyongyang and Washington could fully implement the outcome of the summit earlier this month between Trump and Kim.
Photo: Reuters
US defense officials believe that China can exert crucial sway on North Korea, moving negotiations forward because Beijing also wants a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.
One senior US official said it would soon be clear whether North Korea is serious about implementing the summit agreement.
The US is to present North Korea with a series of requests and a specific timeline for various phases of the denuclearization, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal communications.
The official did not provide details on what the requests would be or what the timeline would look like.
How Pyongyang responds would indicate whether Kim is operating in good faith, the official added.
Mattis is expected to meet with a range of officials during his visit here, including US diplomats and senior Chinese military leaders.
However, it is unclear how much of Mattis’ progress with the Chinese leaders would be affected by the roiling trade war between the US and China.
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