US supports South Korea's strong ties with China
By Kang Seung-woo
WASHINGTON – President Park Geun-hye and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed on Saturday (KST) that closer relations between South Korea and China are important in resolving North Korea's nuclear issue.
"President Obama affirmed that South Korea-U.S. relations and South Korea-China relations could be compatible and supported South Korea's policies toward China," Park said during a press conference after a summit at the White House.
"The recent summits between South Korea and China, the U.S. and China, and now South Korea and the U.S. have served to build consensus regarding North Korea and its nuclear program, and we believe that this will play a positive role in insuring peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and throughout Northeast Asia."
Obama also said that the U.S. wants South Korea to have solid relations with China because strong bilateral ties are important in convincing Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons programs, given that China is the lone major ally of the North.
"Sometimes there's a perception that if President Park meets with President Xi (Jinping), that must cause a problem for us," Obama said. "We want South Korea to have a strong relationship with China, just as we want to have a strong relationship with China."
Their shared view came while there is speculation that Washington is concerned about the stronger Sino-South Korea ties because the relationship may prevent the U.S. government from pursuing its rebalancing strategy towards Asia, aimed at containing a rising China in the region.
In addition, Park's attendance at China's military parade commemorating the end of World War II last month seemed to add fuel to Washington's concerns.
Park also said that South Korea will strengthen three-way cooperation with the U.S. and Japan to address the North Korean nuclear issue.
Obama said that the U.S. is ready to talk with the North if the latter shows it is serious about denuclearization.
"President Park agrees with me here that at the point where Pyongyang says, ‘We're interested in seeing relief from sanctions and improved relations, and we are prepared to have a serious conversation about denuclearization.' I think it's fair to say we'll be right there at the table," he said.
Park said that the summit was meaningful in that it provides the impetus to the efforts to open new frontiers of cooperation within the South Korea-U.S. alliance, and strengthens our global partnership.
"South Korea and the U.S. will work together on health security, cybersecurity, space and Arctic cooperation, which are all gaining the top spotlight in this 21st century," she said.
"In the realm of space, particularly, we will work to quickly conclude talks on South Korea-U.S. agreement on space cooperation to establish an institutional foundation for such cooperation."
Park visited the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center on Thursday in order to advance cooperation with the U.S. in the space exploration.