Park, Xi show close ties

By Kang Seung-woo

The contrast between two summits President Geun-hye is attending this week could not be any sharper.

On Monday, Park and Chinese President Xi Jinping celebrated the settlement of a free trade agreement (FTA) on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Beijing.

Today, Park is scheduled to meet U.S. President Barack Obama, but their summit is expected to be devoid of anything new, and will likely serve only to reaffirm their collective stance in opposition to North Korea’s nuclear program.

“Park and Obama will likely not have any fresh agenda items at their summit except for the North’s nuclear weapons program,” said Professor Kim Hyun-wook of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy.

“Whether they announce it or not, Obama may push Park not to join the China-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB),” Kim added.

The AIIB is to be a regional rival to the World Bank.

Stressing Pyongyang’s threats, Washington has compelled Seoul to participate in its defense shield, something the latter “virtually“ agreed to do at April’s talks between Park and Obama, said Paik Hak-soon, a researcher at the Sejong Institute.

“The U.S. government has taken advantage of the North’s nuclear and missile programs as a pretext for the establishment of its defense system in Northeast Asia together with South Korea and Japan,” Paik said.

U.S. Forces Korea plans to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the Korean Peninsula ― an indispensable element of the U.S.-led missile shield ― and the Park government backs the scheme.

“The military security mechanism aimed at ultimately containing regional powerhouses China and Russia is already set and the U.S. does not have to emphasize the need to the South anymore,” said Paik.

Professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies said that the summit has greater symbolic value.

“The Park administration may have sought to hold the summit more than the U.S. because the China-Japan talks and the China-U.S. summit were scheduled in advance,” he said.

“To South Korea, holding a conversation with China and Japan does not carry much weight without a meeting with the U.S.”

Meanwhile, with the release of Americans Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller by the North Korean authorities on Saturday after a visit to Pyongyang by U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, the South appears to have been left out of Washington’s policies toward the North.

“The South has depended on the U.S. and China in dealing with North Korea issues, limited to assisting them,” Paik said, adding that Seoul’s opinions have not been reflected.

“We need to possess our own direct channel with the North to raise our voices on the issues.”