Park, Xi agree to deter NK provocations

President Park Geun-hye shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their summit in Beijing, Wednesday. The two leaders agreed that stronger Seoul-Beijing ties are crucial for stability and peace in Northeast Asia. / Korea Times photo by Hong In-ki

Two leaders to propose trilateral summit with Abe next month

By Kang Seung-woo

President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed Wednesday that they oppose any moves by North Korea to raise tension on the Korean Peninsula.

Park and Xi also agreed to work together for an early resumption of the long-stalled six-party talks on ending Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions. They will propose a trilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in late October or early November.

The two leaders held a summit at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing ― the sixth of its kind since Park’s inauguration in February 2013. Park arrived in China for a three-day trip that also included her attending a military parade today to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

“The two leaders voiced opposition to any act that could escalate tension,” Cheong Wa Dae said in a statement.

Ahead of the summit, Park expressed gratitude to Xi for the constructive role Beijing played in defusing inter-Korean tension heightened following landmine blasts on Aug. 4 on the inter-Korean border.

In response, Xi lauded the friendly ties between the two countries, stressing that relations have grown into the best ever.

The summit came after the Koreas avoided a military confrontation, sparked by the North’s landmine attack in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on Aug. 4, by reaching a deal to defuse tension between the two sides.

However, the Kim Jong-un regime is expected to test-fire a long-range missile around the foundation day of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party on Oct. 10.

The six-party talks, which are a multinational forum comprised of the United States, Russia, China, Japan and the two Koreas, have been on hold since December 2008.

Pyongyang and Beijing want the talks to reopen unconditionally as early as possible, but Washington and Seoul demand the North demonstrate its sincerity to shutter its nuclear program in advance.

“China has all along upheld the aim of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula, the maintaining of the peninsula’s peace and stability and resolving issues via dialogue and consultations,” Xi said according to China’s Foreign Ministry.

Park and Xi also urged the secretive state to comply with its international obligations including the decisions of the U.N. Security Council and the Sept. 19, 2005 agreement, under which the North agreed to scrap its nuclear programs in exchange for diplomatic concessions and economic aid.

Park’s trip to China also drew attention in regard to reopening the possibility of the three-way summit. Park proposed holding such a meeting in November.

China, at odds with Japan over historical and territorial issues, was skeptical of the event, but given the bilateral agreement, accompanied by Abe’s pushes for better ties with Seoul and Beijing, discussions for the summit are likely to make some progress.

“The two leaders agreed that the three-way cooperation system should exist as a tool to maintain peace, stability and prosperity in Northeast Asia,” the presidential office said.

It also said that Xi gave a credit to Park for her efforts to normalize the trilateral cooperation.

The last three-way summit was held in May 2012, but the three countries’ foreign ministers talked about the issue during their meeting in Seoul in March.

Should the three-way meeting be fixed, Korea will host the talks because Seoul was supposed to hold them in 2013.