Beijing and Seoul to work together
China and South Korea today agreed to work together to help defuse tensions created by North Korea’s nuclear programme, a senior official in Seoul said.
The two major players in the region were coming together to “prevent the situation from further aggravating,” the South Korean diplomat said.
South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Tae-sik and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed they would try “to resolve North Korea’s nuclear issue peacefully through dialogue,” he added.
Tensions over North Korea – particularly with the United States – have increased since October, when the North acknowledged it had reactivated its nuclear programme. A flurry of diplomacy has taken place since then, including frequent visits by high-level US officials to Beijing and Seoul.
Lee arrived in Beijing yesterday. China’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement today, said only that the two men “exchanged views about bilateral concerns and the common concern of the North Korean nuclear issue”.
China is an important player in the drama for two reasons – the influence it wields in the region and its unique status as a long-time ally of North Korea, though Beijing is treading a fine line as it balances neighbourly relations with its international obligations.
The Chinese government has said repeatedly that it wants a “nuclear-free Korean Peninsula” but has steered clear of criticising North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s regime.
In recent days, North Korea has pulled further inward, expelling two UN nuclear inspectors and threatening to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty to free its nuclear facilities from international controls.
Pyongyang yesterday urged South Korea to prevent war by backing the North in its confrontation with the United States over the nuclear issue.
“It is an urgent national task to avert the danger of war and preserve peace on the Korean Peninsula,” the communist North said in a New Year’s message.
