Seoul hopes for coordination with Beijing on post-Kim Jong-il N. Korea


South Korea and China will hold their annual high-level talks in Seoul next week, which Seoul officials hope to use as a chance to seek coordination on the post-Kim Jong-il North Korea.

The meeting will likely be led by Korean First Vice Minister Park Suk-hwan and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun and could take place on Tuesday, an official at the Korean Foreign Ministry said.

“The meeting is aimed at sharing views on the current situation after the passing of Kim Jong-il and consulting on the way forward regarding the Korean Peninsula,” the official said on the condition of anonymity.

“Both sides have been in working-level preparations to hold the meeting in Seoul next week,” he said, adding that the two sides are in the process of arranging the exact date for the one-day talks.

The meeting will be the first official strategic talks between the two neighbors since North Korea announced Monday the passing of Kim, its iron-fisted ruler.

It also comes as South Korea faces doubts internally over the level of its policy coordination with China on the North Korean issue.

President Lee Myung-bak, shortly after the death of Kim was revealed, had phone conversations with leaders of the U.S., Japan and Russia. The leaders agreed to closely coordinate to ensure stability in the region.

Lee’s attempt to talk to Chinese President Hu Jintao was reportedly snubbed by the Chinese side. Instead, foreign ministers of the two countries talked on the phone a day later.

“President Hu rarely speaks with leaders of other countries on the phone,” Lee explained during a meeting with leaders of major political parties Thursday.

Next week’s talks between Park and Zhang are also expected to touch on future plans regarding the North Korean nuclear issue, the foreign ministry official said.

“Overall issues will be on the table at the talks next week, including the matter of the six-party talks,” he said.

The six-nation talks, aimed at halting, rolling back and dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program, involve the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the U.S. They have been dormant since the last session in late 2008.

In the wake of the death of Kim, analysts expect China to bolster its support for North Korea as Beijing wants to avoid any instability in the North to avoid a mass influx of refugees.

For China, North Korea is also considered a buffer to the U.S. alliance with South Korea.

Thus far, South Korean and U.S. military officials have detected no abnormal military movements in North Korea and initial reports by the North’s media suggest that Kim Jong-un is in control.

Before Kim’s demise, North Korea had been expected to announce it would suspend its uranium enrichment program and accept U.N. nuclear monitors in exchange for food aid. The North Korean moves are preconditions set by the U.S. and South Korea for resuming broader six-party talks.

Seoul’s chief nuclear negotiator Lim Sung-nam met his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei on Friday during a two-day visit to Beijing to discuss the aftermath of the death of Kim and how to continue diplomatic efforts to revive the six-party talks on the North’s nuclear weapons program.

By Lee Sun-young & news reports 
(milaya@heraldcorp.com)