SOUTH KOREA PERSPECTIVE

Seoul reads the Pyongyang summit with barely veiled anxiety. For the South Korean press, the message is plain: 'Xi emboldens Kim Jong-un.' The mere fact that North Korea was Xi's first foreign destination this year is read as a powerful diplomatic signal, and the 'extraordinary' welcome ceremony alone marks a milestone in the history of China-North Korea relations. Editorials urge the government to 'bolster ties with the US and Japan,' because the summit 'complicates Seoul's security calculations.' What worries Korean experts most is Xinhua's explicit mention of strengthening exchanges in the 'military' sphere — a phrasing 'rarely highlighted' in bilateral readouts, confirmed by a Xinhua commentary calling to deepen cooperation 'in diplomacy, law enforcement, military affairs and others.' Some analysts see it as a sign that Beijing is now focused 'more on countering US influence than on curbing North Korea's nukes.' The Unification Ministry takes note of Xi's call for expanded military ties, while Seoul reaffirms its goal of denuclearizing the peninsula — a goal this summit, by Korean experts' own admission, pushes even further out of reach.