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China Deepen Ties with South Korea Amid North Tension
China agreed to deepen ties with South Korea and Japan at an annual summit overshadowed by accusations that its ally North Korea sank one of the Souths warships. The North rejected the charges as sheer fabrication to justify a a war of aggression against it.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has steered clear of public discussion of North Koreas role in the sinking since he arrived in South Korea yesterday. In contrast, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama today paid his respects at a cemetery where the 46 sailors who died in the sinking are buried, before flying to the resort island of Jeju for the two-day summit. There he said he would back any South Korean move to take the case to the United Nations Security Council.
The three countries agreed to set up a permanent liaison office in South Korea in 2011 and to pursue a free-trade agreement, the Souths presidential office said today in a statement. The leaders also agreed to cooperate more closely on regional security issues, including getting North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons, the statement said.
South Korea is focusing all our efforts on holding North Korea responsible, presidential spokesman Park Sun Kyoo told reporters yesterday in Seoul, adding that this would be a key aim at the summit also.
Todays trilateral summit mostly focused on economic issues, and other regional issues including North Koreas recent attack will likely be discussed tomorrow, Kazuo Kodama, press secretary for Japans Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told foreign media reporters.
Security Council
South Korea wants China to accept findings that the North fired a torpedo that sank the 1,200-ton Cheonan on March 26. China holds veto powers in the Security Council, so its acquiescence is needed to win a resolution condemning the North. Wen yesterday said that while China wont protect anyone found guilty of the attack, it is still assessing the evidence.
China is North Koreas largest trading partner and main political ally, having fought alongside the North and against the U.S. in the 1950-1953 Korean War.
The case of the warship sinking is a sheer fabrication made by the South Korean ruling forces, a hideous burlesque intended to stir up the atmosphere of escalated confrontation, state-run Korean Central News Agency said.
At the three-way summit, President Lee Myung Bak stressed the need to enhance economic cooperation between the three countries and work toward integrating their economies, Lees spokeswoman Kim Eun Hye told reporters.
Silence for Dead
Hatoyama proposed a silent prayer for the dead at the start of the meeting, after pledging active support for South Koreas push for UN action over the deadliest attack blamed on the North Korean regime in more than two decades.
North Korea warned the UN to be wary of evidence that it said falsely accuses the country of torpedoing the warship, likening the case to the claims of weapons of mass destruction that the U.S. used to justify its war against Iraq in 2003.
The Security Council risks being misused by the U.S., the countrys foreign ministry said last night in a statement carried by KCNA. The U.S. is seriously mistaken if it thinks it can occupy the Korean Peninsula just as it did Iraq with sheer lies, the statement said.
The U.S. is joining South Korea in blaming North Korea for the sinking to put China into an awkward position and keep hold on Japan and South Korea as its servants, KCNA said.
China proposed to the U.S. a joint investigation with North and South Korea into the sinking, the Seoul-based Hankyoreh newspaper reported, citing a diplomat it didnt name. Russia plans to send its own team to South Korea for an independent assessment of the incident.
A South Korea-led team involving experts from the U.S., U.K., Australia and Sweden blamed North Korea for the sinking in a May 20 announcement in Seoul.
Russia also has veto power in the Security Council and participates in the stalled six-party talks on North Koreas nuclear weapons program that are hosted by China. The U.S., Japan and South Korea also take part.
North Korean Major General Pak Rim Su said in Pyongyang yesterday that the international investigation into the March 26 sinking was biased because it was supervised by the South Korean military and included the U.S., KCNA said.
Pak said the North does not have type of submarines that the South said carried out the attack, Agence France-Presse reported, citing North Koreas Chungang TV. South Koreas Yonhap News quoted South Korean officials as saying the North has about 10 of the Yeono class submarines, AFP said.
Senior Colonel Ri Son Gwon also derided claims that writing on the torpedo was put there by North Korea, AFP reported.
When we put serial numbers on weapons, we engrave them with machines, Ri said, according to AFP.
China, South Korea to Deepen Ties Amid North Tension (Update1) - BusinessWeek
China agreed to deepen ties with South Korea and Japan at an annual summit overshadowed by accusations that its ally North Korea sank one of the Souths warships. The North rejected the charges as sheer fabrication to justify a a war of aggression against it.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has steered clear of public discussion of North Koreas role in the sinking since he arrived in South Korea yesterday. In contrast, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama today paid his respects at a cemetery where the 46 sailors who died in the sinking are buried, before flying to the resort island of Jeju for the two-day summit. There he said he would back any South Korean move to take the case to the United Nations Security Council.
The three countries agreed to set up a permanent liaison office in South Korea in 2011 and to pursue a free-trade agreement, the Souths presidential office said today in a statement. The leaders also agreed to cooperate more closely on regional security issues, including getting North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons, the statement said.
South Korea is focusing all our efforts on holding North Korea responsible, presidential spokesman Park Sun Kyoo told reporters yesterday in Seoul, adding that this would be a key aim at the summit also.
Todays trilateral summit mostly focused on economic issues, and other regional issues including North Koreas recent attack will likely be discussed tomorrow, Kazuo Kodama, press secretary for Japans Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told foreign media reporters.
Security Council
South Korea wants China to accept findings that the North fired a torpedo that sank the 1,200-ton Cheonan on March 26. China holds veto powers in the Security Council, so its acquiescence is needed to win a resolution condemning the North. Wen yesterday said that while China wont protect anyone found guilty of the attack, it is still assessing the evidence.
China is North Koreas largest trading partner and main political ally, having fought alongside the North and against the U.S. in the 1950-1953 Korean War.
The case of the warship sinking is a sheer fabrication made by the South Korean ruling forces, a hideous burlesque intended to stir up the atmosphere of escalated confrontation, state-run Korean Central News Agency said.
At the three-way summit, President Lee Myung Bak stressed the need to enhance economic cooperation between the three countries and work toward integrating their economies, Lees spokeswoman Kim Eun Hye told reporters.
Silence for Dead
Hatoyama proposed a silent prayer for the dead at the start of the meeting, after pledging active support for South Koreas push for UN action over the deadliest attack blamed on the North Korean regime in more than two decades.
North Korea warned the UN to be wary of evidence that it said falsely accuses the country of torpedoing the warship, likening the case to the claims of weapons of mass destruction that the U.S. used to justify its war against Iraq in 2003.
The Security Council risks being misused by the U.S., the countrys foreign ministry said last night in a statement carried by KCNA. The U.S. is seriously mistaken if it thinks it can occupy the Korean Peninsula just as it did Iraq with sheer lies, the statement said.
The U.S. is joining South Korea in blaming North Korea for the sinking to put China into an awkward position and keep hold on Japan and South Korea as its servants, KCNA said.
China proposed to the U.S. a joint investigation with North and South Korea into the sinking, the Seoul-based Hankyoreh newspaper reported, citing a diplomat it didnt name. Russia plans to send its own team to South Korea for an independent assessment of the incident.
A South Korea-led team involving experts from the U.S., U.K., Australia and Sweden blamed North Korea for the sinking in a May 20 announcement in Seoul.
Russia also has veto power in the Security Council and participates in the stalled six-party talks on North Koreas nuclear weapons program that are hosted by China. The U.S., Japan and South Korea also take part.
North Korean Major General Pak Rim Su said in Pyongyang yesterday that the international investigation into the March 26 sinking was biased because it was supervised by the South Korean military and included the U.S., KCNA said.
Pak said the North does not have type of submarines that the South said carried out the attack, Agence France-Presse reported, citing North Koreas Chungang TV. South Koreas Yonhap News quoted South Korean officials as saying the North has about 10 of the Yeono class submarines, AFP said.
Senior Colonel Ri Son Gwon also derided claims that writing on the torpedo was put there by North Korea, AFP reported.
When we put serial numbers on weapons, we engrave them with machines, Ri said, according to AFP.
China, South Korea to Deepen Ties Amid North Tension (Update1) - BusinessWeek
