Leaders eye N Korea deal

2008-08-25 14:07

Seoul - The leaders of South Korea and China agreed on Monday to expand co-operation in political, economic and other fields - including North Korea's nuclear disarmament - as the two Asian neighbours push for a new strategic partnership.

"We agreed to make joint efforts to ensure the six-party talks process enters a new phase," Chinese President Hu Jintao said, referring to international talks led by China aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear programmes.

Hu, speaking at a news conference with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak after their summit, also called for the "full implementation" of the second phase of the denuclearisation process that calls for the disablement and declaration of the North's nuclear facilities.

China, North Korea's key ally and main aid donor, has chaired numerous rounds of disarmament talks since 2003 on Pyongyang's weapons programmes. The talks - which also involve the US, the two Koreas, Russia and Japan - have produced a landmark aid-for-disarmament deal.

In June, North Korea demolished its nuclear reactor's cooling tower and submitted its long-delayed nuclear declaration under the deal. The North, however, remains at odds with the US over how to verify the declared nuclear programmes.

Pyongyang has accused Washington of delaying its removal from a US terrorism blacklist. Washington has said it will drop North Korea from the list only after it agrees to a full nuclear verification plan.

North Korean state media carried a series of dispatches criticising the US last week and blasting US-South Korean computer-simulated war games. The North's Foreign Ministry said Pyongyang would bolster its "war deterrent" - a euphemism for its nuclear programmes - amid "military threats" posed by the US. High-level strategy talks

Hu and Lee also agreed on frequent visits by senior officials and for the countries to hold their first high-level strategy talks among diplomats within this year, according to a joint statement released after the summit by South Korea.

Hu arrived earlier for the two-day state visit, flush with his country's success in hosting its first Olympic Games, which concluded on Sunday. Monday's summit was the third since May, when Lee visited Beijing and pledged with Hu to enter a "strategic co-operative partnership". They also met in Beijing during the Olympics.

Earlier, about 40 protesters in downtown Seoul held up a sign reading "Grant refugee status to North Koreans". China does not recognise North Koreans who enter the country as refugees, rather viewing them as economic migrants.

China and North Korea have a treaty that calls for the repatriation of North Koreans caught crossing their shared border without permission. Human rights advocates in South Korea say North Koreans face persecution if they are sent back.

Hu and Lee also agreed to step up visits by senior defence and military officials between the two sides, and to boost co-operation in environmental protection, energy and finance.

The two leaders signed several memorandums of understanding on issues such as co-operation in saving energy, high-tech fields as well as trade, according to Lee's office.

- AP