US envoy to NKorea in China on Korean denuclearization

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA - The U.S. special envoy for North Korea is in China to discuss the denuclearization process of Korean peninsula, according to media reports on Tuesday.

The South Korean daily Chosunilbo reported that U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun reached Beijing on Sunday.

He will be meeting Kong Xuanyou, Biegun’s Chinese counterpart.

“The visit is part of Biegun's tour to discuss what to do next after the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi collapsed last month,” the Korean daily said.

Trump exited his second summit with Kim last month in Hanoi after saying that he could not agree to all demands of Kim.

The current China visit of US envoy to North Korea came after White House national security advisor John Bolton earlier this month sought help from Beijing on shutting down North Korea’s nuclear program.

“The idea that there’s a role for China in the negotiations is something that we’d be willing to consider if we could see some movement on North Korea’s part,” John Bolton had said in a Radio interview.

After failure of the Hanoi summit, China remarked that the denuclearization process of North Korea was “not a very easy process”.

“Otherwise it [denuclearization of Korean peninsula] would not have dragged on until today,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang had said commenting on Trump exiting summit with Kim.

The daily also said that Biegun may also visit North Korea since “Trump has slammed the brakes on fresh sanctions against Pyongyang”.

U.S. Treasury Department last week sanctioned Chinese firms that have been allegedly trading with North Korea. However, Trump tweeted and asked the treasury to retract from new sanctions.