Trump: Chinese envoy going to North Korea a ‘big move’

President Trump on Thursday weighed in on China’s announcement that it is sending a senior diplomat to North Korea in the wake of his visit to Asia. 

“China is sending an Envoy and Delegation to North Korea – A big move, we’ll see what happens!” Trump said in an early morning tweet. 

China is sending an Envoy and Delegation to North Korea – A big move, we’ll see what happens!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2017

The tweet comes it was reported that the head of China’s ruling Communist Party’s International Department, Song Tao, will visit North Korea on Friday to report the outcomes of the party’s congress earlier this month.

{mosads}Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the visit is unrelated to Trump’s meeting with President Xi Jinping last week, and said it was “common practice” for China and North Korea to exchange views.

“The purpose of this visit is to brief about the party congress and exchange views on issues of common interest and bilateral interest,” Geng said. 

Trump met with Xi in China last week, amid growing tensions between Washington and Pyongyang regarding North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. 

Trump said alongside Xi at a news conference that China could end North Korea’s nuclear program if Xi “hopefully work[s] on it very hard.”

“If he works on it hard, it will happen. There’s no doubt about it,” Trump told reporters.