[AP/Yonhap News Photo]
SEOUL -- North Korean and Chinese leaders discussed ways to enhance strategic and tactical cooperation at their talks in Beijing, the North's state media reported as the international community keeps a close watch on how Pyongyang will implement a deal with Washington to dismantle nuclear facilities.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un returned home Wednesday after he held two rounds of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his two-day visit to Beijing that followed a historic summit with U.S. president Donald Trump a week ago in Singapore, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Thursday.
Kim and Xi had serious discussions on urgent international issues and ways to strengthen "strategic and tactical cooperation" between the traditional allies under a new situation, KCNA said, adding that before leaving Beijing, Kim inspected farming facilities at the Sci-tech Innovation Institute under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and a subway traffic control system center .
At their first meeting on Tuesday, Xi promised to play a constructive role and supported denuclearization on the Korean peninsula. Chinese state-run broadcaster CCTV reported that Kim vowed to push for a permanent peace regime on the Korean peninsula with China and relevant countries.
China has tried to keep its balance by highlighting its role in the process of signing a peace treaty that would involve the two Koreas and the United States. China is a signatory of the armistice accord that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.
It was Kim's third visit to China in three months since the reclusive leader launched a flurry of diplomacy that began after North Korea participated in this year's Winter Olympics in South Korea. Kim had visited China in March and May for talks with Xi.
Kim's trip came after Seoul and Washington announced the suspension of their joint military exercise code-named "Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG)". There are about 28,000 US troops stationed in South Korea. Extra US military assets and personnel come from abroad for regular joint drills including UFG, a command post exercise based on computer-simulated war games.
U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton urged quick first steps, saying sanctions would be eased when North Korea takes "palpable, concrete" steps toward denuclearization. "I think the first move here is really for North Korea to make," Bolton told Fox News. "They've said they want complete denuclearization. Now we are going to have to talk about how to achieve that, and I think you will see diplomatic engagement proceed very quickly."
"If they are serious, North Korea should want to move quickly, too," Bolton said. "We're urging everybody to continue them, and we'll watch very closely what North Korea not only says, but what it does."
