President Trump and Chairman Xi [AP Yonhap News]The Korean Peninsula issue was also on the agenda during the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on the 14th, but it appears to have been of minor importance.

Given that President Trump's top priority is effectively ending the war in Iran, it is highly probable that discussions related to the situation on the Korean Peninsula were confined to a general level.

China's Xinhua News Agency reported, "The two leaders exchanged views on major international and regional issues such as the situation in the Middle East, the crisis in Ukraine, and the Korean Peninsula." No specific details were provided.

The official outcome of the meeting released by the White House included one-third of the content related to the war in Iran, but there was no mention of the Korean Peninsula.

Judging by the announcements from both sides, while the situation on the Korean Peninsula was included in the agenda for President Trump and Chairman Xi's meeting, it did not hold significant weight.

As evident from the White House's meeting outcome, President Trump's primary concerns, apart from export issues of agricultural products to promote to domestic voters, lie in ending the war in Iran and opening the Strait of Hormuz.

For President Trump, securing cooperation from Chairman Xi to resolve the war in Iran is a more urgent situation than seeking cooperation for North Korea policy.

While North Korea, which is pursuing enhanced defense capabilities by proposing nuclear disarmament negotiations without excluding denuclearization, is indeed a serious security concern for the United States, it is highly probable that the consultation with Chairman Xi was at a general level, aimed at avoiding escalation of conflict and managing the situation, given President Trump's pressing need to find an exit from the war in Iran before the November midterm elections.

A point of interest during this China visit by President Trump, who was already in the East Asian region, was whether he would attempt to meet with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un. So far, President Trump has shown no particular overt actions.

This is in contrast to the repeated messages he sent before his visit to South Korea for the APEC summit in Gyeongju last year, stating he was "100% open" to a meeting with Chairman Kim.

President Trump and Chairman Xi (right) [Reuters Yonhap News]

Considering President Trump's penchant for unpredictable actions, while the possibility of a surprise meeting with Chairman Kim to divert U.S. domestic attention from the fallout of the war in Iran cannot be entirely ruled out, the general consensus is that he currently has little bandwidth to focus on the Korean Peninsula situation.

It is also speculated that Chairman Kim, having experienced fruitless negotiation attempts with President Trump in 2018-2019, may not actively engage with the U.S. until conditions are ripe to achieve maximum gains, including a shift in objective towards gaining acceptance or recognition of nuclear armament.

In contrast, during President Trump's visit to China in November 2017, the situation on the Korean Peninsula was discussed with significant emphasis.

At that time, North Korea had declared its goal of completing its nuclear arsenal and was continuing high-intensity provocations, including its sixth nuclear test and intercontinental ballistic missile test launches. President Trump directly stated at a joint press conference that they had agreed to exert pressure and deterrence on North Korea to abandon its dangerous actions.

Chairman Xi also echoed this at the press conference, stating that they would strictly and fully implement UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea. This indicates that President Trump exerted strong pressure for their cooperation.

However, currently, China, along with Russia, is undermining the international community's sanctions regime against North Korea by acting at odds with UN resolutions on North Korea. Moreover, China's influence over North Korea is not as strong as it once was, as North Korea strengthens its ties with Russia following its participation in the Ukraine war.