During an unannounced meeting with Chinese President President Xi Jinping on Wednesday that marked his first known foreign trip since taking power in 2011, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reaffirmed his commitment to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and urged the U.S. to reciprocate moves toward diplomacy by creating “an atmosphere of peace and stability.”
“The issue of denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula can be resolved, if South Korea and the United States respond to our efforts with goodwill…while taking progressive and synchronous measures for the realization of peace,” Kim said, the according to the Chinese state media outlet Xinhua. “It is our consistent stand to be committed to denuclearization on the peninsula.”
While the details of what was discussed during the meeting between the two leaders are unclear, China Central Television aired select clips of the visit, including Kim’s arrival at the Chinese capital and a series of photo-ops.
Responding to Kim’s unofficial visit to China as well as his diplomatic overtures in a series of tweets Wednesday morning, U.S. President Donald Trump—who earlier this month agreed to meet with Kim in person later this year—declared that “maximum sanctions and pressure must be maintained at all cost,” despite warnings from experts that this pressure campaign could destroy the possibility of peace.