By Kang Hyun-kyung
BEIJING ― The leaders of South Korea and China reaffirmed peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula as a top priority Tuesday with concerns growing over North Korea after the death of its leader Kim Jong-il.
In a joint press statement released after President Lee Myung-bak met Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, the two sides agreed to cooperate in efforts to ease tension.
They also agreed to work together to create favorable conditions for the resumption of long-stalled six-party nuclear talks. Earlier, South Korea and the United States demanded North Korea take necessary steps to resume the talks that include Japan, China, and Russia.
Despite this, the statement displayed a subtle difference between Seoul and Beijing in their approach to tension.
In the statement, China called on South and North Korea to reconcile and make joint efforts to improve relations through dialogue.
China expressed the hope that these efforts could ultimately lead to peaceful unification of the two Koreas.
Zhang Liangui, a professor of international strategic research at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, was quoted as saying that President Lee hopes China will exert influence on the North.
“Yet China is clear that it has limited influence and is unwilling to interfere too much in the domestic affairs of North Korea,” the China Daily, a state-controlled local English newspaper, reported Tuesday.
During the talks, Lee expressed the hope that the two sides will continue to work closely together in trade cooperation. He assessed positively the stable growth of the Chinese economy, despite the global financial crisis.
The South Korean President, who made the three-day state visit to China starting Monday, met the Chinese premier a day after holding a summit with President Hu Jintao.
Lee and Hu spent most of the time exchanging views on North Korea after the death of Kim Jong-il, which was announced on Dec. 19 last year.
A nine-point statement agreed by the two sides also covers their agreement on Chinese illegal fishing in the South Korean waters, regional and global partnerships, a free trade agreement, climate change and green growth.
Seoul and Beijing agreed to increase high-level contacts through a hot-line established between the foreign ministers of the two countries and strategic dialogue to work closely together on agendas of mutual interest.
The two sides agreed to maintain high-level defense contacts and exchange visits.
Regarding Chinese illegal fishing in the South Korean waters, the two sides agreed to keep working on negotiations to determine the maritime boundary.
Chinese fishermen illegal trawling near the maritime border in the West Sea remained a headache for South Korea as local fishermen have suffered a significant income decrease.
On trade, the two countries agreed to work toward achieving bilateral trade volume of $300 billion by 2015. This reached nearly $200 billion last year.
Speaking at a meeting with business leaders of South Korea and China, Lee asked them to strengthen investments and industrial cooperation in the non-manufacturing sector, such as energy, the environment and services.
The business forum was co-hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
Lee will return to Seoul today.