ROK calls for talks on the DPRK

BEIJING - The Republic of Korea's (ROK) President Lee Myung-bak called on Wednesday for revived international talks to solve the problem of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), apparently softening his stance.

We "have no choice but to resolve the problem of dismantling North Korea's (DPRK) nuclear program diplomatically through the Six-Party Talks", Lee said as he received a 2011 policy report from the foreign ministry.

Lee's speech came one day after China and Russia said they would never allow any war on the Korean Peninsula, or lingering tensions between the ROK and the DPRK.

Visiting Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin met on Tuesday in Moscow, and reiterated that the Six-Party Talks have proven to be the most realistic and effective solution to solving the problem, and that emergency consultations among the heads of the six delegations are needed urgently.

The statement came shortly after the tensions were further escalated by the ROK's latest drill on Monday and the United States sending its third aircraft carrier to the region.

Liu Jiangyong, an expert on East Asia studies with Tsinghua University, said the statement is the "first joint declaration of China and Russia's policy on the Korean Peninsula issue in six decades".

Liu said the strong wording and clear expression of the statement is a heavy declaration of the unshakable stance of the two important regional countries to defend peace and stability, and is a serious way to assure the regional balance.

"The reason why there hasn't been any major military conflict on the Korean Peninsula in the past 60 years while the two sides maintained in an opposing state of Cold War is that there has not been any major imbalance of power in the region," he said.

Liu added that someone's "wild act" in the region could possibly lead to war, and that China and Russia's reaction is to make it clear that no one misjudge the situation.

"The joint statement is worthy of consideration for the ROK and the US. The current 'drill race' in the region has posed danger to real interests of China and Russia. All countries should act to avoid further damage."

China and Russia agreed that both will continue to work for further cooperation and coordination and to push forward the direct dialogue between the ROK and the DPRK.

Escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula may even trigger a war, which is absolutely not in line with the interests of the relevant parties including Russia, the US and Japan - while the ROK and the DPRK are the most susceptible if the war broke out, the two sides said in the joint statement.

Tensions have been high on the Korean Peninsula since the Nov 23 artillery fire exchange that saw the DPRK rain shells on Yeonpyeong Island.

The DPRK said it fired after ROK shells landed in its waters, while the ROK has said its routine firing drill was aimed away from the sea border and should not have provoked an attack.

Seoul has taken a hard-line stance, despite the fact that Pyongyang has reacted silently to the ROK's continuing drills.

Agencies contributed to this story.

China Daily

(China Daily 12/30/2010 page12)