Why Did Kim Jong Un Just Visit China?

For months, China seemed to be a side player as relations improved between North Korea and South Korea. Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, kicked off the year with an address celebrating the completion of his nuclear deterrent after months of boasting about his increasing nuclear capability. In his speech, he also expressed interest in North Korea’s participation in the Winter Olympics. That, in turn, provided Moon Jae In, the president of South Korea, with the diplomatic opening he sought. What followed: an exchange of conciliatory gesturesat the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, which set the from Kim to meet with President Donald Trump, who had threatened ; Trump immediately accepted. Seoul, it seemed, was in control of the fate of the Korean Peninsula.