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Spotlight | China, Japan, North Korea
Xi lets prospect of Japan's nuclearisation hover over Pyonyang talks

Reading time 4 min
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (right) and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Pyongyang, on 8 June 2026.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (right) and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Pyongyang, on 8 June 2026. © Yonhap News Agency/MaxPPP
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (right) and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Pyongyang, on 8 June 2026.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (right) and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Pyongyang, on 8 June 2026. © Yonhap News Agency/MaxPPP

The Chinese president's silence over the nuclear issue during the summit in the North Korean capital sent a clear signal to Kim Jong-un that a return to the negotiating table with Washington is now the only way to avert a far more destabilising prospect: that of the the official nuclearisation of Japan.

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