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| President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands during a press conference after a summit at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. / Yonhap |
By Kang Seung-woo
President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed Thursday to push for the denuclearization of North Korea and expressed their strong opposition to another nuclear test by the North.
The agreement is a stronger warning on Pyongyang's nuclear program than a year ago, when they said that the North's nuclear program was a threat to the security of the Korean Peninsula, the region and world peace, so it wouldn't be tolerated.
They also agreed to cooperate on the issue of forced sexual slavery by the Japanese military before and during World War II. This was taken as an "indirect" warning to Japan for its attempt to review the Kono Statement which acknowledged and apologized for Japan's forced wartime conscription of women into military brothels.
But a joint statement made no reference to Tokyo's moves to give itself the option of deploying troops overseas.
The two leaders held a summit at Cheong Wa Dae after the latter arrived here earlier in the day with first lady Peng Liyuan for a two-day state visit.
"At a time when North Korea is committed to a policy of developing its economy and nuclear arsenal in tandem, it is also testing missiles and threatening to conduct a nuclear test," Park said in a press conference.
The President said she and the Chinese leader shared the view that they must accomplish denuclearization without fail and prevent the North from conducting another nuclear test.
"President Xi's visit to Seoul ahead of Pyongyang will send the North a clear message of his support for denuclearization, and regional security and stability."
More concretely, Park and Xi urged the secretive state to comply with its international obligations including the decisions of the U.N. Security Council and the Sept. 19, 2005 Joint Statement.
The September statement was the first tangible result of the six-party talks when Pyongyang promised to abandon its nuclear ambitions in return for economic aid and U.S. pledges it would not attack the reclusive state.
The Xi visit has been thrust into the limelight as he decided to come to Seoul ahead of Pyongyang, Beijing's oldest ally, for the first time in more than two decades. Diplomatic sources call the visit a "clear cold shoulder to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un."
The Kim regime has frequently tested China's patience with its military provocations including a third nuclear test in February last year, but Beijing has been reluctant to penalize it.
While Washington is trying to wield more influence in Northeast Asia under its "rebalancing to Asia" policy ― a battle between two powerhouses for hegemony in the region ― Beijing needs a strategic partner in Pyongyang.
In addition, Park and Xi agreed to make immediate efforts to resume the long-stalled six-party talks by preparing preconditions.
"Relevant nations should steadily pursue the six-party process and hold bilateral and multilateral talks to coordinate and solve mutual concerns," Xi said.
The China-chaired multinational forum for denuclearizing the North that includes the United States, Russia, Japan and the two Koreas has been on hold since 2008.
His remarks come after a recent series of meetings between the relevant countries' senior officials took place in order to ease conditions for a resumption of the stalled talks.
Previously, the North called for a reopening of the talks, but the South Korean and U.S. governments demanded that it first show sincerity regarding denuclearization before any resumption.
According to the joint statement, China also highly recognized Park's flagship North Korean trust-building policy ― a carrot-and-stick approach of attempting to engage Pyongyang without tolerating any provocations. They also agreed to strike a free trade agreement by the end of this year. China is Korea's No. 1 trading partner, with trade between the two countries surpassing $270 billion in 2013.
Along with the regional issues, they also discussed ways to develop a mature "strategic partnership for cooperation" during their fifth meeting.
Under this initiative, the two leaders will have their chief security officers as well as foreign ministers meet on a regular basis.
Also, the two countries will launch a private-government dialogue structure to broaden and deepen ties.
The joint statement called for an annual forum of young people, and the start of negotiations on their maritime borders, a preemptive move to eliminate future disputes of the sort that China is currently engaged in with other countries.
Highlights in Seoul-Beijing statement
1. Regular exchange of security officials
2. Finalizing Korea-China maritime boundaries by 2015
3. Signing a contract on the joint production of films
4. Pressing to restart six-party talks on NK denuclearization
5. Finalizing an FTA within the year
6. Setting up a direct won-yuan trading market
