North Korea expected to ask China for a break at summit

Veerle Nouwens, an Asia analyst at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies in London, said the summit invitation was a goodwill gesture to get North Korea back into the international community. “The forum could be an initiative by Beijing to encourage North Korea to rejoin the world. It has traditionally advocated economic aid in exchange for Pyongyang abandoning its nuclear and missile programmes,” she said.