DATE=8/23/1999 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=CHINA-SOUTH KOREA (L ONLY) NUMBER=2-253019 BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON DATELINE=BEIJING CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: South Korean Defense Minister Cho Sung-tae has arrived in Beijing for talks a South Korean diplomat says are aimed at seeking China's help in persuading North Korea not to fire a long-range missile. VOA correspondent Roger Wilkison reports Mr. Cho's meeting Monday with his Chinese counterpart -General Chi Haotian - is the first encounter ever between defense ministers of the two former Korean War adversaries. TEXT: Nearly a half-century ago, Chinese and South Korean soldiers faced each other on the battlefield. But the defense chiefs of both nations are now discussing how best to maintain peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. South Korea maintains that one of the keys to preventing a new upsurge of tension on the peninsula is for North Korea to forego the test of a new long- range missile, the Taepodong Two. Nearly a year ago, North Korea launched the three-stage Taepodong One, part of which soared over Japan before splashing down in the Pacific. That test rattled nerves in Japan, which quickly agreed to study the development of a joint missile defense system with the United States. China strongly opposes the plan and is especially concerned that it might incorporate Taiwan, which Beijing regards as part of China. Some Chinese officials have publicly said that Washington and Tokyo are plotting to contain China's rise as a world power. North Korea has been sending mixed signals regarding the potential launch of the Taepodong Two. It has reportedly completed preparations for a test and defended its right to carry one out. But it has also indicated a willingness not to test in exchange for economic and political concessions from the United States, Japan and South Korea. China is still an ally of North Korea, although their relationship has undergone strains ever since Beijing established ties with South Korea in 1992. China and South Korea have become each other's third-largest trading partner. But Beijing recently sought to shore up ties with its reclusive neighbor and has helped to prop it up with large supplies of grain and oil. South Korea and Japan have asked Beijing to use whatever clout it may have with North Korea to dissuade Pyongyang from conducting another missile test. But Japanese diplomats say they do not believe China can exert much influence on its secretive ally. (signed) NEB/RW/FC/PLM 23-Aug-1999 03:52 AM EDT (23-Aug-1999 0752 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .
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