South Korea's top diplomat on U.N. affairs headed to China on Tuesday to convince Beijing to support Seoul's push to censure North Korea at the U.N. Security Council for the deadly sinking of one of its warships.
Vice Foreign Minister Chun Yung-woo plans to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Cui Tiankai, during a two-day visit to Beijing. The trip came days after Seoul referred Pyongyang to the Council for the March 26 attack that left 46 sailors dead.
Chun's discussions in Beijing are expected to provide clues to how China, a veto-holding permanent Council member, will deal with the case at the Council and whether it will continue its protection of Pyongyang and resist any Council rebuke of its communist neighbor.
"The Security Council has the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security," Chun told reporters before leaving for Beijing. "The Security Council should carry out this responsibility and take measures" against the sinking.
Chun also said he will have "open-hearted discussions" with Chinese officials so as to broaden the scope of cooperation between the two countries "as strategic cooperative partners that can talk closely to each other about security issues of concern."
North Korea has denied any involvement, but a South Korean-led multinational probe concluded last month that a small submarine from the communist nation attacked the South Korean warship Cheonan with a torpedo in waters near their tense Yellow Sea border.