China tells Kim Jong-un to move on nuclear weapons

China has urged North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to carry out the denuclearisation commitment made with Donald Trump.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (C) walks with China's Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Li Zhanshu (L) on a balcony of the Grand People's House on Kim Il Sung square following a military parade and mass rally in Pyongyang on September 9, 2018. - Thousands of North Korean troops followed by artillery and tanks paraded through Pyongyang on September 9 as the nuclear-armed country celebrated its 70th birthday, but it refrained from displaying the intercontinental ballistic missiles that have seen it hit with sanctions. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP)

China has urged North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to carry out the denuclearisation commitment made at his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Singapore in June.

China’s third-ranking Communist Party official Li Zhanshu delivered the message while in Pyongyang for the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of North Korea’s founding.

Mr Li said that it was important for the US and North Korea to “thoroughly implement the consensus to reach the common goal of denuclearisation,” according to reports from Central China television yesterday.

The China Daily reported that Mr Li said he hoped China and North Korea could implement the agreements reached between China’s President Xi Jinping and Kim to strengthen high-level communication and co-operation. He said China had always adhered to the need for the de­nuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region.

He said all sides should resolve any issues through dialogue and negotiation.

Mr Li said China hoped that both North Korea and the US would implement their agreement and “maintain the trend of peaceful dialogue”.

Observers of North Korea have pointed out that Sunday’s massive parade in Pyongyang did not include a display of the country’s intercontinental ballistic missiles, which is being seen in Asia as an encouraging sign and a decision not to provoke Mr Trump, who has been complaining that Kim is not moving fast enough to implement their agreement.

In his statement to China, Kim spoke of his support for the friendship between North Korea and China and said he hoped to learn from China’s experience in developing North Korea’s economy.

He said North Korea would stick to the agreement it reached with Mr Trump in Singapore and he hoped that the US would also carry out its commitments and “jointly promote the process of a political solution to the peninsula’s nuclear issues”.

Mr Xi, who did not attend the celebrations, sent a congratulatory message to the North Korean leader praising the achievements that the country had been able to make over the past 70 years.

He stressed the importance of China’s relations with North Korea, which he described as “friendly neighbours linked by a mountain and rivers”. Mr Xi said his three meetings with the 34-year-old Kim this year had helped to “charter the development of bilateral relations”.

With the weekend celebrations over, the attention shifts to a visit to Pyongyang by South Kor­ean leader Moon Jae-in next week to judge the pace of progress on the Singapore agreement.

Mr Trump cancelled a visit to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month, complaining of a lack of progress. He has also criticised China for not doing enough to encourage North Korea to move ahead with its commitment to denuclearisation.