By Kim Young-jin
Staff reporter
Seoul has expressed to Beijing its disappointment over North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's visit to China, a foreign ministry official here said Tuesday.
Vice Foreign Minister Shin Kak-soo outlined the stance during a meeting on Monday with Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Zhang Xinsen, the unidentified official told reporters.
``The government expressed its disappointment and asked Beijing to clarify a few questions it had,'' the official said.
The North Korean leader has been in China on the secretive visit since early Monday, and a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao is believed to be imminent.
Seoul's disappointment is due to the timing of the visit, which comes on the heels of President Lee Myung-bak's own summit with Hu, according to another Seoul official, also unidentified.
``A visit to China by the North Korean leader is, of course, a bilateral issue between China and North Korea. But the government is not happy about the timing of Kim's trip,'' Yonhap News quoted the official as saying.
On Tuesday afternoon, Kim and his entourage were reportedly set to travel to Beijing.
On the same day, Seoul called on China to take a ``responsible role'' in regional efforts to deal with the tension on the peninsula, which is mounting as the investigation into the sinking of the South Korean Navy vessel Cheonan continues, the news agency reported.
``It is requested more than ever that China play a responsible role as the current state of affairs on the Korean Peninsula is unfolding in a dynamic way,'' Minister of Unification Hyun In-taek told Ambassador Zhang, the report said.
Hyun also cited the deteriorating inter-Korean tourism project at the Mt. Geumgang resort to illustrate the rising tension between the two Koreas.
The Cheonan went down on March 26 after an explosion tore it in two near the highly disputed inter-Korean maritime border.
President Lee said Tuesday the ship ``did not sink due to a simple accident,'' which suggests Seoul believes an attack caused it to go down ― further raising suspicion of North Korean culpability.
1 | Korea to ease entry rules to boost tourism, domestic spending |
![[INTERVIEW] Can art become stable investment source?](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/d9b4b117e5b74f4c931de724ebd2ee68.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Choi Min-sik, Lee Dong-hwi on creating Korean-style noir with 'Big Bet'](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/8b795a8f6b42492db4e8fdc47e9abd8d.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Ahn Jae-hong on playing underdog basketball coach in 'Rebound'](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/fe381342632c46bfa6d3245cb475676e.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
