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North Korea’s Kim Pledged Commitment to Denuclearization, China Says

North Korea’s Kim Pledged Commitment to Denuclearization, China Says
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North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un pledged his commitment to denuclearization and to meet US officials, China said Wednesday after his meeting with President Xi Jinping, who promised China would uphold friendship with its isolated neighbor.

North Korea’s Kim Pledged Commitment to Denuclearization, China Says

Following two days of speculation, China and North Korea confirmed that Kim traveled to Beijing and met with Xi during what China called an unofficial visit from Sunday to Wednesday.

The visit was Kim's first known trip outside North Korea since he assumed power in 2011 and is believed by analysts to serve as preparation for upcoming summits with South Korea and the United States.

In a related context, US President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter he had received a message from Xi Tuesday night that his meeting with Kim "went very well" and that Kim looked forward to meeting him.

"Look forward to our meeting!" Trump w
rote, while adding: "In the meantime, and unfortunately, maximum sanctions and pressure must be maintained at all cost!"

Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the China-North Korea talks and Kim's decision to travel outside his country were a "positive sign" the US-led pressure campaign to force North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons has been working.

"We're going to be cautiously optimistic," she told reporters.

Earlier this month, Trump, who has exchanged bellicose threats with Kim in the past year, surprised the world by agreeing to meet the North Korean leader to discuss the crisis over Pyongyang's development of nuclear weapons capable of hitting the US.

China has traditionally been secretive North Korea's closest ally but ties have been frayed by Kim's nuclear weapons program and Beijing's backing of tough UN sanctions in response.

Relatively, China's Foreign Ministry cited Kim in a lengthy statement as telling Xi the situation on the Korean Peninsula was starting to improve because North Korea had taken the initiative to ease tensions and put forward proposals for talks.

"It is our consistent stand to be committed to denuclearization on the peninsula, in accordance with the will of late President Kim Il Sung and late General Secretary Kim Jong Il," Kim Jong Un said, according to the ministry.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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