China's Foreign Ministry Says It Has"No Information to Provide" on the Possibility of a North Korea-China-Russia Summit
(Moscow/Seoul=Yonhap News) Correspondent Choi In-young, Reporter Cha Byeong-seop = The Russian Kremlin announced on the 2nd (local time) that Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un may meet in China.
According to TASS, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to a question about whether a decision had been made regarding the North Korea-Russia summit,"Chairman Kim Jong-un will arrive in Beijing this evening," and "after arriving, taking into account his schedule, he will be able to directly discuss the possibility (of a summit) with the delegation."
Earlier, Yuri Ushakov, Kremlin foreign policy adviser, said on the 29th of last month that President Putin and Chairman Kim were considering the possibility of meeting in China.
President Putin and Chairman Kim will both attend the military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of China's Victory Day in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on the 3rd. They are expected to sit side by side with Chinese President Xi Jinping, demonstrating to the world the solidarity between North Korea, China, and Russia.
President Putin arrived in Tianjin, China on the 31st of last month, attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit for two days, and then arrived in Beijing on the same day to hold a summit meeting with President Xi.
Chairman Kim reportedly left North Korea by train the previous day and arrived in Beijing that afternoon.
The summit between President Putin and Chairman Kim was held in the Russian Far East in September 2023 and in Pyongyang, North Korea in June 2024.
Meanwhile, some have raised the possibility of a trilateral summit between North Korea, China, and Russia in addition to bilateral talks between the countries.
When asked about the possibility of a North Korea-China-Russia summit at a regular briefing that day, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiaqun said,"We will announce (information related to the Victory Day commemoration event) in a timely manner," but added,"We have no information (regarding the North Korea-China-Russia summit) that we can provide."
The National Intelligence Service also stated in a closed-door meeting report to the National Assembly Intelligence Committee that day that the possibility of a North Korea-China-Russia summit is low.
