NKorea official in Beijing after China’s ban on coal imports

In Washington, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi met Tuesday with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and they discussed “areas of mutual concern, including North Korea’s nuclear programs,” the State Department said. Yang, a top foreign policy adviser, is the first senior Chinese official to visit the U.S. since President Donald Trump took power five weeks ago. Yang met the president Monday.

Angered by Kim’s defiance of U.N. resolutions against North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs, China has been ratcheting up its enforcement of punitive U.N. sanctions while urging dialogue between the sides.

China’s tough line drew an unusual critique last week from North Korea’s state-run news agency, which suggested that Beijing’s suspension of coal imports and criticism of a recent North Korean missile test amounted to an enemy state “dancing to the tune of the U.S.”

Some observers speculate that relations have also been affected by the apparent assassination of Kim Jong Un’s older half brother, Kim Jong Nam. South Korea says it believes Kim Jong Un ordered the killing, which took place Feb. 13 at Kuala Lumpur’s airport.

The elder Kim was believed to have two sons and a daughter with two women living in Beijing and the Chinese territory of Macau, and to have enjoyed some degree of Chinese protection.

While seeking to moderate North Korea’s actions, China is wary of harsher steps that could cause Kim’s regime to collapse, possibly leading to a wave of refugees seeking to enter China, and U.S. and South Korean forces on its northeastern border.

Further complicating matters, China’s formerly close relations with North Korea’s rival, South Korea, have been shaken by Seoul’s decision to deploy an advanced U.S. anti-missile defence system that Beijing regards as a threat to its own security.

The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

NKorea official in Beijing after China’s ban on coal imports

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