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China, S. Korea leaders to discuss N. Korea nukes
BEIJING, Dec 14, 2017 (BSS/AFP) – South Korean President Moon Jae-In will
meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing Thursday amid mixed
US signals about potential talks to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis.
Relations between Beijing and Seoul have encountered their own rough patch
over the US military’s deployment of a powerful anti-missile defence system
in the South to counter the North’s threats.
Moon hopes to “normalise” ties during the visit, his office has said, after
Beijing imposed economic measures against South Korean companies, a move seen
as retaliation to the installation of the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area
Defense) system.
China sees the deployment as a threat to its own security.
Moving past the disagreement has become increasingly important amid growing
concern that bellicose rhetoric between Washington and Pyongyang could spark
war on the Korean peninsula.
“The highlights to watch of the visit would be whether the two sides (Seoul
and Beijing) can start a dialogue and cooperation mechanism on the DPRK
(North Korea) nuclear issue,” said Zhu Feng, international studies professor
at Peking University.
China has long refused to countenance the possibility that the North’s
Communist regime could collapse.
But a series of nuclear and missile tests combined with pressure from US
President Donald Trump has pushed Beijing to reconsider its position and
prioritise improving relations with Seoul.
“It is a very uncertain period,” Zhu said. “The two sides need high-level
dialogues and dialogues between militaries. These dialogues cannot really
start without the normalisation of the bilateral relations.”
– Possible talks? –
Moon’s visit comes after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said
Washington was ready to talk to North Korea “without preconditions”, though
it remains determined to force Pyongyang to give up its nuclear arsenal.
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China and Russia responded positively to Tillerson’s remarks, even after
the White House appeared to put his proposal in question by saying Trump’s
“views on North Korea have not changed.”
Beijing has pressed for talks to peacefully resolve the crisis, but there
are signals that it has begun to prepare for the possibility of the North’s
collapse.
Tillerson said Tuesday that US and Chinese officials have discussed
scenarios in case the North Korean regime falls, including steps to deal with
refugees crossing the border, and how to secure Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons.
Washington’s top diplomat said these discussions involved him, the US
defence secretary and military chief, and senior Chinese officials.
Such discussions were unthinkable just a few months ago.
But China’s priority has been to convince the United States and North Korea
to hold talks.
Beijing has also urged the US, Japan and South Korea to suspend joint
military drills in the region in return for North Korea to halt its nuclear
activities — an idea consistently rejected by Washington and Seoul.
But “Pyongyang can’t have its cake and eat it, too,” the state-run China
Daily warned in an editorial Thursday.
“It cannot expect Washington to engage in direct peace talks with it, while
at the same time making such talks more difficult by continuing with its
missile launches and nuclear tests.”
In Tokyo, UN chief Antonio Guterres warned that the worst outcome would be
for the world to “sleepwalk into a war that might have very dramatic
circumstances.”
– Thaw –
With concerns about the peninsula’s stability mounting, South Korea and
China issued identically-worded statements last month on their mutual desire
to improve relations.
They did not state any specifics, but Beijing has demanded that Seoul
formally promise not to deploy any more THAAD launchers and not to join any
regional US missile defence system. On Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry
spokesman Lu Kang said Beijing had reached “some consensus” with Seoul on
THAAD.
In a limited sign of improved ties, China’s state tourism board approved
Seoul-bound group tours from some parts of the country last month.
A business delegation including executives from South Korean giants
Samsung, Hyundai and LG, is accompanying Moon on the trip, which began
Wednesday and is the president’s first state visit to China since he took
office in May.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1240hrs