SEOUL, South Korea — Hopes are rising in South Korea, particularly inside President Lee Jae-myung’s administration, that North Korea will be on the agenda when President Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea this month.

In remarks widely picked up in South Korean media, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC Thursday that Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi will have a “pull aside meeting” at the end of the month. While Mr. Bessent was discussing trade, not North Korea, the venue he was discussing was clear: South Korea hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum Oct. 21-Nov.1.

Both the Chinese and U.S. leaders are expected to attend.

Inter-Korean ties froze following a failed 2019 summit in Vietnam between Mr. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. President Lee, who assumed power in Seoul in June, has made no secret of his desire to get cross-DMZ relations back on track.

Given Seoul’s position as junior partner in its alliance with the U.S., renewed Pyongyang-Washington ties are a prerequisite.

China, Korea’s neighbor, the region’s most economically important and powerful state and the closest global competitor to the U.S., cannot be ignored. Now, the geopolitical stars may be aligning.

“We always hope that China will make positive contributions when it comes to inter-Korean relations,” South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said in an interview with Hong Kong media published Thursday.

Mr. Xi offered Mr. Kim prestige positioning at a major Sept. 3 military parade in Beijing commemorating the 80th anniversary of World War II’s end.

Mr. Xi did not mention North Korean denuclearization in his public statements, leading some to suggest that China now accepts North Korea as a de facto nuclear state.

It is unknown if Mr. Xi advised Mr. Kim to reopen channels with Washington, but on Sept. 22, Mr. Kim said, per state media reports, that he had “fond memories” of his meetings with Mr. Trump during his first term.

“If the United States drops the absurd obsession with denuclearizing us … there is no reason for us not to sit down with the United States,” he said.

Rumors are rife among Seoul pundits about whether Mr. Kim – whose nation is not an APEC member — will visit South Korea during the forum in the historic southern city of Gyeongju.

That would present risks for Mr. Kim. He has never visited the South, which he calls a hostile state, and he could be exposed to conservative protests as well as diplomatic niceties.

Other rumors have Mr. Trump pow-wowing with Mr. Kim at the DMZ truce village of Panmunjom. Or a North Korean delegation, possibly led by Mr. Kim’s sister Yo Jong – who visited the South prior to an inter-Korean summit in 2018 – could come.

Regardless, Mr. Lee, who has deprioritized denuclearization, clearly wants to leverage the multilateral summit to restart discussions with North Korea.

For that, Beijing’s role is critical.

North Korea provides China a strategic buffer against the U.S.-allied democracies of South Korea and Japan. At the cost of 183,000 dead, per Chinese media, Beijing’s forces saved North Korea from obliteration in the 1950-53 Korean War.

Subsequently, after the Soviet Union fell, China extended an economic lifeline, supplying poverty-stricken North Korea with food and fuel, possibly preventing a state implosion.

With North Korea now reaping the benefits of Russian aid in return for military assistance in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, China’s importance has lessened, but not evaporated.

Experts speaking during a webinar offered by the Pacific Forum think tank on Friday were guardedly optimistic that Pyongyang could return to the negotiating table.

“There are a lot of positive vibes – there could be different talks and avenues,” said Harry Kazianis, editor in chief of The National Security Journal. “Looking at the next few weeks, we would see some very dynamic changes …there could be an impromptu Trump-Kim summit.

“President Lee is signaling that he wants to see summitry happen, he is looking for opportunities to push it,” he added.

He also noted that, per recent interviews with Fox News, Mr. Trump has indicated a possible willingness to meet Mr. Kim without preconditions.

But others cautioned that Beijing has its own agenda – including a stabilized North Korea and American troops out of South Korea.

“While China is competing with America, China can also work with America to improve the nuclear situation of North Korea,” said Son Hyun-jin, an associate professor at the Hiroshima Peace Institute. “The current maintenance of the situation … is China’s default position. They do not want any changes.”

If denuclearization is off the table, baby steps are needed.

“A good starting point is to resolve the Korean War,” said Xiaoyi Ze, a Pacific Forum fellow.

The conflict ended with a 1953 armistice, not a peace treaty. Even so, despite frequent tensions, the peninsula is at peace. The last deadly North-South clash was in 2010.

Peace activists support a treaty. Relatively low-risk for all players, it could be achieved with more ease than disarmament.

However, conservatives fear that if a deal is signed, Beijing and Pyongyang could argue for the removal of all U.S. troops from South Korea.

That issue is in focus. Some drawdown of troops in Korea is expected, given Washington’s prioritization on homeland defense.

Another issue that could lead to a drawdown is a transfer of wartime operational control of South Korean troops from U.S. to domestic command. Mr. Lee aims to achieve that by 2030, alarming pundits who fear it could neuter joint war-fighting capabilities.

U.S. forces in Korea are primarily deployed on the country’s China-facing Yellow Sea Coast, ideally situated for operations in support of Taiwan. If GIs in Korea become a bargaining chip in North Korea talks, Beijing stands to benefit.

“They want a more independent South Korea … not playing a role in other regional conflagrations that may emerge,” said Rob York, Pacific Forum’s program director.

• Andrew Salmon can be reached at asalmon@washingtontimes.com.