91仓库

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a thinly veiled jab at Japan ahead of his scheduled arrival in North Korea for a summit with leader Kim Jong Un on Monday, urging Pyongyang to join Beijing in rejecting “any scheme or action aimed at reviving militarism and undermining regional security and stability.”

Xi is due to arrive for a two-day trip later in the day, his first visit to North Korea in seven years, with the two looking to build up ties as Pyongyang has turned to Moscow for many of its needs — a role traditionally held by Beijing.

In remarks carried by both countries’ state-run media, Xi looked to lay the groundwork for improving ties during his visit by emphasizing commonalities, including their mutual concern over what Beijing has characterized as Japan’s “new militarization.”

Japan has in recent years looked to shed some of the postwar constraints on its military, boosting defense spending and easing strict rules on the export of deadly weapons, as it looks warily at growing Chinese military assertiveness — moves that Beijing and Pyongyang have repeatedly criticized as reminiscent of those in the runup to World War II.

Without directly naming Japan, Xi said the two sides “should oppose hegemonism and power politics, and reject any scheme or action aimed at reviving militarism and undermining regional security and stability,” according to state-run media.

“The two sides should strengthen strategic communication and coordination, and jointly uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law,” he added.

Xi and Kim are expected to discuss regional security issues, economic cooperation and boosting people-to-people exchanges, with the Chinese leader saying that China “stands ready to work with the DPRK to steer bilateral relations from a strategic perspective, keep China-DPRK relations abreast of the times, and achieve greater development of the relationship.”

North Korea’s formal name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)

“Currently, relations between China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea stand at a new historical starting point, facing new development opportunities and shouldering new missions of the times,” Xi said.

But one issue not likely to be on the agenda is North Korea’s “denuclearization,” a long-stated goal of both China and the United States.

In remarks Sunday, Kim’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, said that the North’s “status as a nuclear weapons state is the line of no retreat and it is a stark reality whether anyone recognizes it or not.”

Her comments were apparently aimed at underscoring that discussions on North Korea relinquishing its nuclear weapons will not be part of the Xi-Kim talks.

Beijing has long been nervous about the potentially destabilizing effects of North Korea’s nuclear program — and the spillover impact it could have on China — even signing on to onerous U.N. sanctions against its sole security ally in 2016 and 2017.

But China has not publicly mentioned the denuclearization issue since the summer of 2023, including during Xi’s last meeting with Kim for events marking the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II in September.

Beyond his sister’s statement, Kim Jong Un has also made appearances in recent days that strongly highlight his firm position on North Korea’s “treasured nuclear sword.”

On Wednesday, he visited a “newly inaugurated nuclear materials production factory” that he hinted would open the door to even “larger plans” for its arsenal. The following day, Kim boarded a new destroyer, vowing to accelerate a push to build a nuclear-armed navy. And on Saturday, he visited a major munitions factory and ordered the country’s missile production capacity to be increased ?2.5 times over the next five years.

While these trips were ostensibly seen as aimed at Japan, South Korea and the U.S., analysts said they also carried an implicit message for Xi that denuclearization is no longer a realistic policy objective.