Two stand against nuclear N. Korea, agree on peaceful unification
By Kim Tae-gyu
THE HAGUE — Korea and China showcased their close ties Sunday in a summit between Presidents Park Geun-hye and Xi Jinping.
The two traded pleasantries with each other over the opening of a memorial hall for Korea's independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun.
"I myself ordered the construction of the memorial," the Chinese President told Park at the start of their meeting that lasted about an hour, twice as long as planned.
Park replied "It captures well the spirit of goodwill between the two countries."
The memorial was opened in Harbin, close to the rail station where Ahn shot Hirobumi Ito, the first Japanese resident-general of Korea, on Oct. 26, 1909.
As victims of Japan's imperial occupation, the two nations often find themselves in tune when condemning Japan.
Their fourth summit comes two days ahead of a trilateral meeting among Park, U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The Park-Xi meeting was dominated by North Korea with a firm agreement on the peaceful unification of the two Koreas, according to Park's aides.
"Park and Xi confirmed their shared stance of not tolerating the North's nuclear ambitions while positively evaluating the two countries' strategic communications on various matters on the Korean Peninsula," a Cheong Wa Dae official said.
"Park stated the North cannot pursue the goals of nuclear development and economic advancement at the same time," he said. "Xi agreed with Park and made clear his opposition to North Korean nuclear weapons."
The two also agreed to try to speed up stalled free trade agreement (FTA) talks.
Korea finished the first-phase FTA negotiations with its largest trade partner and final discussions are underway to boost cross-border transactions that amounted to $274.2 billion last year.
Xi also promised to visit Korea this year in return for Park's state visit to Beijing. He has had no exchange of visits with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, though the young dictator took power of the Stalinist regime in late 2011, some 14 months earlier than Park.
Beijing helped Pyongyang in the Korean War and is now a key benefactor holding the key to the survival of the impoverished nation.
Xi expressed his thanks for the repatriation of the remains of 400 Chinese troops killed during the Korean conflict.
Meanwhile, during an interview with the Dutch TV station NOS, Park called on China not to reject a U.N. report on the North's human rights situation.
"If China does not veto the U.N. report, the impact would be stronger with regard to human rights in North Korea," Park said.
Her aides said during the summit, there were no feathers ruffled over Park's call for China to restrain from using its veto against the United Nations report on the North's dismal human right records.
The U.N report showed that Pyongyang has committed organized and grave crimes against humanity.
China has not been forthcoming on the report.
By Kim Tae-gyu
THE HAGUE — Korea and China showcased their close ties Sunday in a summit between Presidents Park Geun-hye and Xi Jinping.
The two traded pleasantries with each other over the opening of a memorial hall for Korea's independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun.
"I myself ordered the construction of the memorial," the Chinese President told Park at the start of their meeting that lasted about an hour, twice as long as planned.
Park replied "It captures well the spirit of goodwill between the two countries."
The memorial was opened in Harbin, close to the rail station where Ahn shot Hirobumi Ito, the first Japanese resident-general of Korea, on Oct. 26, 1909.
As victims of Japan's imperial occupation, the two nations often find themselves in tune when condemning Japan.
Their fourth summit comes two days ahead of a trilateral meeting among Park, U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The Park-Xi meeting was dominated by North Korea with a firm agreement on the peaceful unification of the two Koreas, according to Park's aides.
"Park and Xi confirmed their shared stance of not tolerating the North's nuclear ambitions while positively evaluating the two countries' strategic communications on various matters on the Korean Peninsula," a Cheong Wa Dae official said.
"Park stated the North cannot pursue the goals of nuclear development and economic advancement at the same time," he said. "Xi agreed with Park and made clear his opposition to North Korean nuclear weapons."
The two also agreed to try to speed up stalled free trade agreement (FTA) talks.
Korea finished the first-phase FTA negotiations with its largest trade partner and final discussions are underway to boost cross-border transactions that amounted to $274.2 billion last year.
Xi also promised to visit Korea this year in return for Park's state visit to Beijing. He has had no exchange of visits with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, though the young dictator took power of the Stalinist regime in late 2011, some 14 months earlier than Park.
Beijing helped Pyongyang in the Korean War and is now a key benefactor holding the key to the survival of the impoverished nation.
Xi expressed his thanks for the repatriation of the remains of 400 Chinese troops killed during the Korean conflict.
Meanwhile, during an interview with the Dutch TV station NOS, Park called on China not to reject a U.N. report on the North's human rights situation.
"If China does not veto the U.N. report, the impact would be stronger with regard to human rights in North Korea," Park said.
Her aides said during the summit, there were no feathers ruffled over Park's call for China to restrain from using its veto against the United Nations report on the North's dismal human right records.
The U.N report showed that Pyongyang has committed organized and grave crimes against humanity.
China has not been forthcoming on the report.
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