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Xi to discuss denuclearization in S. Korea
July 2, 2014, 8:37 am

File photo of Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan, right, stands next to Chinese President Xi Jinping as they wait for state leaders to arrive for a group photo at the fourth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Shanghai, China, Tuesday, May 20, 2014 [AP]

File photo of Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan, right, next to Chinese President Xi Jinping in Shanghai, China, May 20, 2014 [AP]

South Korea’s senior presidential secretary said on Wednesday that visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Park Geun-hye will exchange notes on detailed measures towards denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during their upcoming summit talks.

Ju Chul-ki, senior foreign affairs and security advisor to Park, told a press briefing on Wednesday that the two leaders will discuss the Trust-Building Process on the Korean Peninsula, a key policy measure of the Park government.

China and South Korea will release a joint cooperation document paper and ink deals in trade, finance, environment and consular affairs during the Chinese President’s state visit.

Xi will make a two-day state visit to Seoul to hold a summit with Park Thursday and meet with National Assembly Speaker Chung Ui-hwa and Prime Minister Chung Hong-won Friday.

“The two sides will also exchange views on maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin told a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.

The upcoming China-South Korea summit talks will aim to empower efforts to solve the Peninsula nuclear issue and deter possible provocations from North Korea, Park’s advisor said.

Xi and Park are also expected to discuss the recent move by the Japanese government to end its post-war pacifist outlook.

The Japanese cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, decided Tuesday to reinterpret its 67-year-old pacifist constitution to allow itself to exercise collective self-defense right.

The revision paved the way for Japanese forces to fight abroad in defense of “countries with close ties.”

Japan also provoked South Korea on June 20 by unveiling the results of its review on the Kono Statement, which acknowledged and apologized for its wartime sex slavery.

The results said Seoul intervened in the wording of the 1993 apology, indicating it was the consequence of closed-door political dealings.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye criticized Japan for attempting to undermine the credibility of its 1993 apology over wartime sexual enslavement of women during World War II, describing the move as an “act that betrayed trust between the nations”, says a Yonhap report.

Xi and Park are also expected to push for speeding up negotiations for the bilateral free trade pact and setting up a market to directly exchange currencies of the two countries.

 

TBP and Agencies