China Moves Closer to North Korea's Position on 'Korean Peninsula Denuclearization'

There is also an opinion that it is due to the policy of separating security and economy

At the Korea-China-Japan summit held for the first time in four years and five months, China mentioned "restraint by relevant parties," including criticism of the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, instead of the joint goal of "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." This has sparked conflicting views, with some seeing it as a change in China's stance toward North Korea, while others regard it as merely a principled statement.

Li Qiang, China's Premier, stated at a joint press conference after the summit held in Seoul on the 27th, "China has consistently promoted peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and is pursuing a political resolution to the Korean Peninsula issue," adding, "The relevant parties should exercise restraint and prevent the situation from worsening and becoming more complicated."

This statement differs from what the late Premier Li Keqiang said at the 2019 summit. At that time, former Premier Li Keqiang said, "The three countries will continue to work with the international community to resolve this issue through political means," reaffirming that "the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and lasting peace in East Asia are common goals of the three countries (Korea, China, and Japan)."

This also contrasts with Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s statement in March this year that the existing Korean Peninsula policy of pursuing denuclearization and a North Korea-U.S. peace agreement simultaneously and step-by-step remains valid.

During the four years when the Korea-China-Japan summit was halted, China’s stance toward North Korea has aligned with North Korea’s position. Regarding North Korea’s missile test launches in 2019, China said, "All countries should cherish the rare phase of tension easing" and emphasized the need to strive for denuclearization. However, in March this year, when North Korea launched a super-large multiple rocket launcher, China pointed out that the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises preceded North Korea’s drills instead of calling for restraint. China did not express any position on last month’s intermediate-range ballistic missile launch.

There is also a view that China’s remarks are merely principled. During this summit, China placed more emphasis on economic, scientific, and technological issues rather than security issues, where it has disagreements with South Korea and Japan. As specific future cooperation areas among Korea, China, and Japan, they explicitly mentioned deepening industrial and supply chain linkages such as the trilateral free trade agreement (FTA), as well as artificial intelligence (AI), digital economy, and green economy. The day before, Premier Li Qiang separately met with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and expressed a welcoming attitude toward Korean companies investing in China.