North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reaffirmed his willingness to abandon nuclear weapons and hold a summit with the United States during his first meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Beijing’s state news agency Xinhua said Wednesday.

“It is our consistent stand to be committed to denuclearization on the peninsula, in accordance with the will of late President Kim Il-sung and late General Secretary Kim Jong-il,” Kim said, referring to his father and grandfather.

“The issue of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula can be resolved, if South Korea and the United States respond to our efforts with goodwill, create an atmosphere of peace and stability while taking progressive and synchronous measures for the realization of peace,” he said. 

It’s the first time North Korea has officially spoken about the coming summit with US President Donald Trump.

The Chinese leader Xi Jinping echoed Kim’s remark, saying Beijing would support the goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and resolve the denuclearization issue through dialogue and consultation, according to Xinhua.

China urges neighboring countries to support the improvement of inter-Korean ties and upcoming summits inter-Korean summit, Xi added, noting that China will continue to play a constructive role maintaining detente between the two Koreas.

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)