Seasons in the Kingdom

Seasons in the Kingdom

Friday, August 17, 2012

New Friends, Old Enemies...

Seoul, Beijing 'See Eye-to-Eye on N.Korea'

A high-ranking Cheong Wa Dae official on Thursday hinted that Seoul and Beijing have been frankly discussing Beijing's long-term troublesome ally North Korea.

The official told reporters relations between South Korea and China are the "best ever" and added "the nature and content" of the agenda of a recent bilateral summit were "unimaginable a few years ago."

"There is constant strategic dialogues between the two countries," he added.

President Lee Myung-bak went on a state visit to China in January and met with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao to discuss the political landscape of the Korean Peninsula after North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's death. During the visit, the leaders agreed to start negotiations on a bilateral FTA.

At the time, Cheong Wa Dae said Lee and Wen had "in-depth discussion on how to induce reform and open-door policies in North Korea in the post-Kim Jong-il era."

The Global Times, a sister newspaper of China's People's Daily, in April urged North Korea to act prudently, and warned the regime of new leader Kim Jong-un not to misjudge China's stance on North Korea. The paper said the North "will pay for the consequences" if its strategy involves taking China "hostage."
englishnews@chosun.com / Aug. 17, 2012 13:02 KST

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