North Korean nuclear program, Gobi sands on Hu Jintao's agenda in Seoul
Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) - North Korea's nuclear program, bilateral economic relations, but also the pollution caused in Seoul by clouds of yellow sand from the Gobi desert are the main points on the agenda for the meetings that Chinese president Hu Jintao will hold with South Korean leaders during his two days in Seoul, where he arrived this morning.
Welcomed at the airport by a small crowd people waving the flags of the two countries, but also by a protest demonstration over China's forced repatriation of those who seek refuge there from North Korea, Hu will meet today with South Korean president Lee Myung-bak.
At the top of the list for the meetings is the problem of Pyongyang's nuclear program, which is on hold following promises made in June to dismantle the military part of the program. Relations between the two Koreas are made more tense President Lee's stance, which has linked the continuation of aid to the north with progress on disarmament and human rights.
But it won't stop with the nuclear issue. The two presidents are also expected to sign a cooperation agreement on energy conservation, technological research, and economic exchange. These areas are deteriorating because many businesses that had invested in China have decided to move to more convenient neighboring countries, especially Vietnam.
Finally, Seoul will ask Beijing to take action to stop the clouds of sand from the Gobi desert that end up in Korea. China announced some time ago a program to plant millions of trees, but for now it seems to be proceeding slowly, to say the least.
It isn't all roses for Hu: about one hundred people demonstrated in downtown Seoul, against the forced repatriation of North Korean refugees, who face death or imprisonment in concentration camps.
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