When President Park Geun-hye leaves for Beijing today, it will not be with a light heart. The decision to attend China’s Victory Day celebrations, including the military parade, was reached after weighing the pros and cons of participating in the events that are being shunned by Western leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama, as well as Japan’s Shinzo Abe.
In considering the visit, the denuclearization of North Korea appears to have been the priority. Following the recent heightened military tension on the Korean Peninsula, which was defused after marathon talks between top officials from Seoul and Pyongyang, it is natural that the Park administration would want to secure stability and security on the Korean Peninsula more than ever.
To this end, Park is looking to enlist assistance from China, which may still have some leverage over North Korea although any such leverage may be significantly less than before, given the current state of Beijing-Pyongyang ties. The fact that North Korea’s Kim Jong-un is staying away from China’s Victory Day celebrations speaks volumes about the worsened relations between the two allies.
Nevertheless, Ju Chul-ki, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs, said that Seoul expects “China to play a role in resolving the North Korean issue” and “in facilitating peace and stability and a peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula.”
When Park holds a separate meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping today, she is expected to ask China to pressure North Korea to return to the six party talks on North Korean denuclearization, which have been suspended since late 2008, when the talks were last held in Beijing.
So far, China has paid lip service to the issue of getting Pyongyang to return to the negotiating table. Furthermore, China and North Korea want an unconditional return to the talks, while South Korea and the U.S. insist that North Korea must demonstrate sincerity before the talks can resume. Given this basic difference in position, it is doubtful whether China can indeed do more than pay lip service to Park’s expected request to do more for North Korean denuclearization.
Yet, ask Park must, and directly too, without beating about the bush. Her China visit comes at the cost of displeasing Korea’s traditional ally, the U.S., and Park must gain something in return from China. In fact, China, aware of the seriousness of Park’s intention, might just be persuaded to take on a more forceful stance with Pyongyang.
In attending the Victory Day events celebrating the “Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War,” Park is betting that China still wields influence over North Korea and that it will choose to play a role in denuclearization of the North which is essential for peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula but in the region as well. Xi should reciprocate Park’s earnestness with concrete action.
