US President Donald Trump today praised China’s decision to send a special envoy to its wayward ally North Korea days after he had pressed Beijing to do more to curb Pyongyang’s nuclear threats.
China’s foreign ministry yesterday announced President Xi Jinping’s special envoy, Song Tao, will travel to Pyongyang this week to brief officials about last month’s Chinese Communist Party congress and “other issues of mutual concern.”
Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang did not say whether the nuclear issue would be discussed but he said China was “committed to the denuclearization of the peninsula, safeguarding peace and stability of the peninsula, and resolving the issue through dialogue and consultation.”
Pressed for details today, Geng re-affirmed the two nations’ close ties in a statement that appeared to downplay the suggestion of a tough approach.
“China and DPRK (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) are close neighbors,” he said.
“Developing friendly cooperation relations between the two countries serves the common interests of the two countries and is conducive to regional peace, stability and development,” he added.
