By Kim Hyo-jin
President Park Geun-hye has yet to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss measures to take against North Korea for its fifth nuclear test, Friday.
This is in sharp contrast to her talks with leaders of other countries. Park spoke with President Barack Obama less than an hour after the test and with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a few hours later.
While the international community is moving toward another round of United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang, attention is being focused on whether Beijing, the reclusive country's only major ally, will participate.
In that respect, the timing and details of talks between Park and Xi may serve as an indicator on China's willingness to join in curtailing North Korea's nuclear drive, according to analysts.
Cheong Wa Dae said "a plan for talks has yet to be drawn up."
"Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se has already spoken with his counterparts in the U.S., Japan, and the European Union and is seeking to do the same with China and Russia," a presidential official told reporters Sunday, following the North's most powerful nuclear test.
Following the reclusive country's fourth test on Jan. 6, talks between Park and Xi came almost a month later, Feb. 5.
This time, the presidential office may hope to arrange contact sooner, considering its agitation over the North's advanced nuclear capability and shortened cycle of nuclear tests.
Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University, says Beijing would be reluctant to contact Seoul prematurely.
"As the North's patron, China needs to lessen the burdens on the isolated country while keeping South Korea in check," he said.
"China's discontent over South Korea's policies toward North Korea including the planned deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery is also a hurdle to cooperation."
Park and Xi earlier held a summit on the sidelines of the G20 conference in Hangzhou, China, Sept. 5.
Xi reaffirmed his commitment to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula but remained at odds with Park over the deployment of the U.S. advanced anti-missile system in South Korea. His view is that it could be used to monitor Chinese assets in the region.
President Park Geun-hye has yet to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss measures to take against North Korea for its fifth nuclear test, Friday.
This is in sharp contrast to her talks with leaders of other countries. Park spoke with President Barack Obama less than an hour after the test and with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a few hours later.
While the international community is moving toward another round of United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang, attention is being focused on whether Beijing, the reclusive country's only major ally, will participate.
In that respect, the timing and details of talks between Park and Xi may serve as an indicator on China's willingness to join in curtailing North Korea's nuclear drive, according to analysts.
Cheong Wa Dae said "a plan for talks has yet to be drawn up."
"Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se has already spoken with his counterparts in the U.S., Japan, and the European Union and is seeking to do the same with China and Russia," a presidential official told reporters Sunday, following the North's most powerful nuclear test.
Following the reclusive country's fourth test on Jan. 6, talks between Park and Xi came almost a month later, Feb. 5.
This time, the presidential office may hope to arrange contact sooner, considering its agitation over the North's advanced nuclear capability and shortened cycle of nuclear tests.
Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University, says Beijing would be reluctant to contact Seoul prematurely.
"As the North's patron, China needs to lessen the burdens on the isolated country while keeping South Korea in check," he said.
"China's discontent over South Korea's policies toward North Korea including the planned deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery is also a hurdle to cooperation."
Park and Xi earlier held a summit on the sidelines of the G20 conference in Hangzhou, China, Sept. 5.
Xi reaffirmed his commitment to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula but remained at odds with Park over the deployment of the U.S. advanced anti-missile system in South Korea. His view is that it could be used to monitor Chinese assets in the region.
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