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| North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping bid farewell at Pyongyang International Airport in Pyongyang after the latter's visit to North Korea in this June 2019 photo. / Korea Times file |
By Kang Seung-woo
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's verbal message to Chinese President Xi Jinping praising Beijing's COVID-19 success was aimed at revitalizing the virus-dented bilateral economic ties, experts said, Friday.
According to Pyongyang's state-run news organization Korean Central News Agency, Friday, Kim "congratulated Xi, highly appreciating that he is seizing a chance of victory in the war against the unprecedented epidemic."
"Kim wished Xi Jinping good health, expressing conviction that the Chinese Communist Party and people would cement the success made so far and steadily expand it and thus win a final victory under the wise guidance of Xi," it added. However, it did not specify when and how the message has been delivered to the Chinese leader.
The report came as the coronavirus pandemic has devastated the North's economy mainly due to its border closure with China, which is the country's chief ― or almost only ― ally and economic lifeline, according to the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS). Bilateral trade with China accounts for about 95 percent of the North's total trade value.
In the wake of COVID-19, the North Korean regime sealed off its border in January.
"For the North, reviving the economy is the most pressing and important matter, and without economic cooperation with China, the North Korean regime cannot exist," said Park Won-gon, a professor of international politics at Handong Global University.
"All things considered, the North intends to break through the economic woes by normalizing the bilateral economic cooperation. In that respect, Kim sent the message to Xi."
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An Chan-il, head of the World Institute for North Korea Studies, also said the message was meant to enhance their bilateral economic ties.
"Kim attracted Chinese investment in the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist area on the east coast and the construction is nearing its completion deadline. Without 1 million Chinese tourists' return, the tourist zone cannot be successful and above all, it cannot emerge as a source of foreign currency," he said. The tourist area is one of Kim's pet projects as he seeks to develop his country's tourism in an effort to overcome economic difficulties under international sanctions.
"The verbal message is a sign of the North Korean leader's decision to make efforts to improve their two-way economic cooperation," he added.
A media report also backs up the North's plans to restore economic relations with China. Late last month, Reuters reported that a North Korean economic delegation would visit Beijing soon to discuss food supplies and trade issues.
According to the South Korean spy agency, the trade volume between the two countries in the first quarter of the year was $230 million, a 55 percent decline compared to a year ago, and in March alone, it recorded $18 million, down 91 percent year-on-year.
"Due to the economic difficulty, many of the North's unofficial provincial markets did not open and the prices of imported groceries such as sugar and seasonings skyrocketed temporarily," said Rep. Kim Byung-kee said, based on the NIS briefing earlier this week.
