28 Mar 2018 13:30

Kim Jong Un's visit to China to help overcome U.S. resistance to inter-Korean contacts - Duma deputy

MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's visit to China will help overcome the United States' resistance to the normalization of relations between Pyongyang and Seoul, the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Development of Civil Society and Public and Religious Associations and a member of the Communist Party's faction, Sergei Gavrilov, told Interfax on Wednesday.

"The series of meetings held by Kim Jong Un in China will make a substantial contribution to overcoming the American resistance to the establishment of direct relations between North and South Korea," Gavrilov said.

"The dialogue between South and North Korea has recently begun but, regretfully, the United States has been extremely stubborn and has tried to stall its negotiations with North Korea," he said.

"A meeting between the presidents [of North Korea and the United States] has been delayed, and impossible preconditions are being set," Gavrilov said.

"Our Chinese partners will help build confidence and strengthen security guarantees during and after negotiations between North and South Koreas," he said.

"The visit was paid shortly after a session of the National People's Congress, which made decisions regarding personnel and approved plans for the future," Gavrilov said.

"I believe that in this context Xi Jinping and the Chinese administration have additional powers and a vote of confidence to bolster relations and trust with the Korean Peninsula," he said.

Kim paid an unofficial visit to China on March 25-28, 2018, the Chinese media said.

He told Xi at the meeting he wanted to personally congratulate the Chinese leader on his reelection as the chief of state.