S Korea asks China for help engaging North Korea
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has asked Chinese President Xi Jinping for help in his efforts to restart talks with his nuclear-armed neighbor North Korea, with Xi telling Lee he is willing to expand cooperation and jointly tackle the challenges they face.
Lee hosted Xi at a state summit and dinner following an Asia-Pacific leaders forum in Gyeongju, South Korea; This was Xi’s first visit to the country in 11 years.
According to the statement made by Lee’s office, Xi said before the summit that China attaches great importance to relations with South Korea and sees it as an inseparable cooperative partner.
Lee, who was elected president in early elections in June, has vowed to strengthen ties with the United States while not antagonizing China and trying to reduce tensions with the North.
“I am quite positive about the situation where the conditions for engagement with North Korea have been created,” Lee said, referring to recent high-level contacts between China and North Korea.
“I also hope that South Korea and China will take advantage of these favorable conditions to strengthen strategic communication to maintain dialogue with North Korea.”
Lee called for a phased approach to denuclearizing North Korea, starting with engagement and halting further development of nuclear weapons.
In a statement on Saturday, North Korea rejected its denuclearization agenda, calling it an unrealizable “pipe dream.”
North Korea repeatedly and publicly rejected Lee’s overtures, saying it would never talk to the South.
In recent years, the North has abandoned its long-held policy of unification with the South and declared it its archenemy.
Leader Kim Jong-un has said he would be willing to talk to the United States if it drops its demands for denuclearization, but has not publicly responded to US President Donald Trump’s offer to meet during his visit to South Korea earlier this week.
Trump and Lee announced a surprise breakthrough in talks to reduce US customs duties in exchange for billions of dollars of investment from South Korea.
The US president then left before the main APEC leaders’ summit.
South Korean national security adviser Wi Sung-lac said at a briefing that China had expressed its willingness to cooperate for peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, but leaders did not specifically discuss what kind of role China would play.
Wi said both sides agree that U.S.-North Korea dialogue is the most important issue.
Chinese state media reports of the meeting with Lee made no mention of the North Korea discussions.
According to Xinhua, Xi suggested ways to open a new page in relations; these included that each country “respect each other’s social systems and development paths, accommodate core interests and important concerns, and appropriately address differences through friendly consultation.”
Xi also called for promoting multilateralism and increasing cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, biopharmaceuticals, green industries and the aging population, Xinhua reported.
During Xi’s visit, China and South Korea signed seven agreements, including the won-yuan currency swap and memorandums of understanding on online crimes, businesses catering to an aging population and innovation, among other issues.
