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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