Expert: US should invest in more peninsula efforts

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01:50

By CGTN’s The Point

After US President Donald Trump on Tuesday denied the international efforts by sacking the Iran nuclear deal, an expert warned that the US should do everything to help the “positive progress’’ on the Korean Peninsula, not something against it.

Washington continues with pressure measures and rhetoric against the DPRK, leaving shorter and uncertain weeks for a historic summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un, leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

In March, Trump surprised many by nodding to the Trump-Kim meeting by May, which was later adjusted to “late May and early June.”

The US side still remains the biggest uncertainty to the progress of Korean Peninsula issue, Cui Hongjian, a professor at China Institute of International Studies, said at CGTN’s The Point (@thepointwithlx).

Despite the peninsula’s going forward in what Cui called a “benign direction” after the inter-Korean talks in April, the Washington-Seoul “Max Thunder” military drill involving eight mighty US F-22 stealth fighters will kick off on Friday.

A US Air Force Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor stealth fighter aircraft is parked inside a hangar. /AFP Photo

“It is a critical time for all the stakeholders to get some joint efforts,” Cui said.

His remarks came after Kim wrapped up his second meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province on Tuesday following their “unofficial” one in Beijing in late March.

“The Dalian meeting has sent a strong message to the US,” Cui referred to China’s support of Pyongyang’s “justified security consent” and the denuclearization resolve.

Cui dismissed that China could possibly be “marginalized” on the peninsula issue, saying China is an “indispensable” stakeholder. “It showcased a closer and closer communication between China and the DPRK.”

Cui also pointed out that Kim’s visit to Dalian, a port city close to the DPRK, is consistent with his domestic focus on the reform and opening up that are aimed at DPRK’s economic development.

“Undoubtedly, Dalian and some other northeastern cities of China will become key partners of the DPRK,” Cui predicted.

The Point with Liu Xin is a 30-minute current affairs program on CGTN. It airs weekdays at 9:30 p.m. BJT (1330GMT), with rebroadcasts at 5:30 a.m. (2130GMT) and 10:30 a.m. (0230GMT).