Chinese Expert Affirms Denuclearization Policy Amid North Korea Ties Concerns

SEOUL, June 26 (Yonhap) -- China seeks to "normalize and substantialize" its relations with North Korea, but its denuclearization policy of the Korean Peninsula remains unchanged, a Chinese expert said Friday.

Yu Tiejun, president of Peking University's Institute of International and Strategic Studies, made the remarks during a forum co-hosted by Yonhap News Agency, amid growing concerns in South Korea that China has been dropping references to denuclearization in its diplomacy.

China made no public mention of the North Korean nuclear issue when Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on June 8.

The omission fueled concerns that Bejing may be moving toward condoning the North's nuclear program.

"We try to normalize and substantialize the DPRK-China relations, and China doesn't change its policy of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Yu said during a panel discussion session.

DPRK is short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"In the long run, we want to establish a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula," he said, adding that Bejing wants to play a role as an "honest broker" to ensure stability on the peninsula.

Regarding the expanding relationship among North Korea, China and Russia versus trilateral partnership between South Korea, the United States and Japan, Yu said China has opposed the polarization of the East Asia region.

"We are keeping a normal relationship with Russia and with the DPRK. I think it's quite consistent," he said.

Patrick Cronin, Asia-Pacific security chair of Hudson Institute, struck a cautious tone about the Lee Jae Myung administration's phased approach to defer denuclearization and seek reduction in the North's nuclear program first.

Cronin pointed out that the North has continued to advance its nuclear ambitions even since the 1950-53 Korean War, when the U.S. had considered using its nuclear arsenal against the North, then led by leader Kim Il-sung.

"Denuclearization is still not a secondary issue ... It has never stopped, and there has been a continuum here," he said.

Cronin also suggested that the possibility of resuming dialogue with Pyongyang may be low because North Korea wants to be recognized as a nuclear-armed state.

"(North Korean leader) Kim Jong-un has set a precondition ... first accept North Korea as a nuclear power," he said. "The precondition makes it very difficult to get to that."