State Dept. reiterates Trump-Xi shared goal on North Korea denuclearization

The U.S. State Department on Monday restated that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed their shared commitment to denuclearizing North Korea, even as Xi held talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang without publicly raising the nuclear issue.

The statement underscores the widening gap between Washington's denuclearization demands and Pyongyang's firm rejection of any such talks, complicating U.S. efforts to restart diplomatic engagement with North Korea through Beijing.

The State Department issued the clarification in response to questions about Xi's visit to Pyongyang, according to Yonhap News Agency. "In Beijing, President Trump and President Xi confirmed their shared goal to denuclearize North Korea," a State Department spokesperson said, The Korea Times reported.

Xi arrived in North Korea on Monday local time and held a summit with Kim Jong-un, according to China's Xinhua News Agency. There were no reports that Xi raised denuclearization or the Korean Peninsula issue during the Pyongyang meeting. The Chinese president instead called for strengthened political trust and expanded bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

North Korea has remained adamant in rejecting any calls to abandon its nuclear program. Kim Yo-jong, the North Korean leader's sister, described her country's nuclear status as "irreversible" — a "line of no retreat," according to The Korea Times.

Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to resume direct engagement with Pyongyang. The administration has sought Beijing's cooperation in restarting dialogue with North Korea and nudging it toward denuclearization talks.

North Korea has been deepening military, diplomatic and economic cooperation with Russia, adding complexity to Washington's strategy for bringing Pyongyang back to the negotiating table.

The overlapping summits — Trump and Xi in Beijing last month and Xi and Kim this week in Pyongyang — highlight the multilayered diplomacy surrounding North Korea's nuclear program and the challenges facing any renewed U.S.-North Korea talks.