Park Geun-hye begins her state visit to China with a success: Xi Jinping sides with the South against the Kim regime’s nuclear arsenal. Relaunch of bilateral economic relations, a plan drafted for a free trade agreement.

Beijing (AsiaNews) - It is "unacceptable" that North Korea has nuclear weapons, and Beijing and Seoul "will do everything together, to ensure the disarmament of the Korean peninsula and thus to ensure the stability of peace in the region." This was announced during a joint press conference between the leaders of China and South Korea, Xi Jinping and Park Geun-hye, on the first day of Park's official visit.

The two countries have expressed a "serious desire to co-operate closely to denuclearize the peninsula." Both have recognized "the impossibility" of controlling the Kim regime and have therefore hoped that "the UN resolutions and the international sanctions will be faithfully implemented by all the parties involved."

The " Pyongyang dossier " was the first step in the common agenda of the two leaders. Park had said before the beginning of her visit that "without Beijing's help we cannot stop the threat of the North", and statements of yesterday seem to indicate that the two countries have developed a common strategy.

In any case, the two leaders also discussed how to improve bilateral relations. Among the measures approved is a new "high-level" communication channel and the resumption of negotiations aimed at creating a free trade agreement. After normalizing diplomatic relations in 1992 - interrupted by the tensions caused by the Korean War - China has climbed up the ranks to become one of Seoul's largest trading partners, having overtaken the United States. Last year's bilateral trade balance exceeded 53 billion U.S. dollars.

 

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