North Korea keeps China in diplomatic loop

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL

North Korea's state media reported Thursday that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held "candid" talks with his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-ho a day earlier.

Wang is his country's first top envoy to visit the North in 11 years, and his trip follows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's surprise train ride to China in March and a subsequent breakthrough inter-Korean summit on April 27.

Some analysts have suggested Beijing -- North Korea's main ally of around seven decades -- is in danger of being left out of the ongoing progress between the Koreas, during which the United States has been seen as the most influential foreign participant.

But China's own state-run Global Times published an editorial Thursday dismissing the claim that Beijing is being frozen out diplomatically as "a shallow attempt to manipulate public opinion".

Meanwhile, North Korea's KCNA news agency stated that Ri and Wang held "in-depth" talks aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.

"They also candidly exchanged their opinions on the matters of mutual concern, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula," Pyongyang's mouthpiece revealed.

Following his recent decision to denuclearize and seek peace, North Korea's leader Kim is expected to hold talks with both U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the coming weeks.