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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un starts two-day visit to China

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un started a two-day visit to Beijing on Tuesday, a week after his groundbreaking summit in Singapore with President Donald Trump.

Kim is expected to brief Chinese President Xi Jinping on the summit, where he pledged the "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." However, the agreement said nothing about inspections or a verification process to make sure North Korea follows through. In a surprise announcement, Trump also gave up joint military exercises with South Korea, a goal long pursued by China and North Korea.

Kim is also expected to seek the easing of international sanctions on his trip to the Chinese capital, which comes amid strained economic relations between China and the U.S. On Monday, Trump threatened to slap new tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods. It's unclear if Kim may be seeking leverage with China in the ongoing economic tug-of-war with the U.S.

Prior to Trump's tariff threats, the U.S. had long looked to China – North Korea's main ally – to influence Pyongyang into negotiating over its nuclear program.

Geng Shuang, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said Beijing hopes Kim's visit will “strengthen our strategic communication on major issues to promote regional peace and stability."

Geng said Beijing supported Russia’s calls last week for unilateral sanctions on North Korea to be canceled immediately. Beijing and Moscow have supported U.N. restrictions, but bristle at Washington imposing unilateral sanctions on North Korea.

Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said Xi “is exerting a lot of influence from behind the scenes."

She said China would want to ensure that Beijing is included in any peace treaty talks, and for China to be involved in creating the conditions for U.S. troops to no longer be stationed in South Korea.

After years in the diplomatic wilderness, Kim visited Beijing in March – his first foreign trip since coming to power in 2011. He also visited the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian in May.

South Korea said Tuesday that a joint military exercise scheduled with the U.S. has been suspended to support ongoing talks both countries have with North Korea.

“South Korea and the U.S. made the decision as we believe this will contribute to maintaining such momentum,” said South Korean Defense Ministry spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo.

She spoke after the U.S. and South Korea announced that the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills slated for August had been called off.

Contributing: Mike James; David Jackson; The Associated Press

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