DATE=10/6/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA-NORTH KOREA (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-254706
BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan is in
North Korea, in an effort to shore up ties with
Beijing's secretive communist neighbor, amid a
changing security situation in Northeast Asia. VOA
correspondent Roger Wilkison reports diplomats in
Beijing say Mr. Tang wants to get a grasp on where
North Korean foreign policy is headed, following an
agreement between Pyongyang and Washington that lifts
some U-S sanctions in exchange for a moratorium on
North Korean missile-testing.
TEXT: China and North Korea are old allies, having
fought together in the Korean War. But their ties
were frayed in recent years by Beijing's decision to
dump communist ideology and open up its economy and by
China's establishment of diplomatic relations with
South Korea in 1992.
Mr. Tang is not only the first Chinese foreign
minister to visit Pyongyang in eight years, he is also
the highest-ranking Chinese official to go there since
the 1994 death of North Korean President Kim Il Sung.
The ostensible purpose of Mr. Tang's visit is to
celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations between the
two neighboring states. Leaders of both countries
have exchanged congratulatory messages and pledged to
further improve ties.
But diplomats in Beijing say China is concerned that
Pyongyang is not keeping it informed about its moves
in the world arena.
One diplomat with contacts in both capitals says the
North Koreans did not brief China on their agreement
with the United States last month, until after the
fact.
The diplomat says China -as a participant in the
occasional four-party talks that discuss reducing
tensions on the Korean Peninsula - is as concerned as
any other country about North Korea's nuclear and
missile programs. In the words of the diplomat, China
will stand by North Korea, but does not want its ally
to become a destabilizing factor in the region.
China's concerns are heightened by U-S moves to study
the development and deployment of a theater missile
defense system, or TMD for short, in East Asia.
Japan, which has said it will collaborate on the
study, was shaken last year by the launch of a North
Korean ballistic missile. That test, coupled with a
suspected nuclear program, has spurred a tightening of
the defense relationship between Washington and Tokyo.
Asian diplomats say Beijing does not want North Korea
to make any further belligerent moves because it fears
above all that, in a climate of regional uncertainty,
Washington might be tempted to extend TMD to Taiwan,
which China has vowed to reincorporate by force, if
need be.
Diplomats generally agree that China would prefer
North Korea to concentrate on repairing its shattered
economy, which has been hard-hit in recent years by
famine-causing natural disasters and mismanagement.
Still, no one is sure just how much clout Beijing has
with Pyongyang. And the tight control exercised by
both governments over their news media means little,
if anything, is likely to be revealed about the
details of Mr. Tang's discussions with his North
Korean hosts. (signed)
NEB/RW/FC/PLM
06-Oct-1999 06:24 AM EDT (06-Oct-1999 1024 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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