DATE=1/20/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SOUTH KOREA / CHINA MILITARY (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-258237
BYLINE=HYUN SUNG KHANG
DATELINE=SEOUL
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: China and South Korea have warned against
the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
on the Korean peninsula, saying it would set off
an arms race. The rare joint stand came during a
landmark trip to South Korea by the Chinese
Defense Minister. As Hyun-Sung Khang reports
from the South Korean capital Seoul, the
statement is seen as being directed at reclusive
North Korea.
TEXT: Following a meeting between the Defense
Ministers of the two countries, China's Defense
Chief, Chi Haotian, urged the two Koreas not to
develop weapons of mass destruction. He said
stability on the divided peninsula is vital to
regional peace. He added Beijing would provide
full support for non-proliferation of nuclear
weapons on the peninsula. His South Korean
counterpart, General Cho Sung-tae, endorsed the
remarks.
Mr. Chi's comments are part of Beijing's official
policy, but South Korean officials see them as
being directed at Pyongyang rather than Seoul.
Although North Korea has frozen its suspected
nuclear weapons program, under a 1994 accord with
the United States, concerns remain over its
missile, chemical and biological warfare
capabilities. South Korea's Defense white paper,
released last year, said North Korea had boosted
its stockpile of chemical weapons fivefold, to
5000 tons.
General Chi is on a five-day trip to South Korea,
the first of its kind by a Chinese defense chief.
He met South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who
praised China's role in reducing the threat of
war between the two Koreas.
China has been a staunch ally of the North,
providing aid and trade to the reclusive
government. During the 1950-to-1953 Korean War,
Chinese soldiers fought alongside North Koreans.
But since China and South Korea established
diplomatic ties in 1992, relations between the
two countries have improved. China is South
Korea's third-largest trading partner. The visit
by the Chinese Defense Chief is just the latest
demonstration of the warmer relations between
them. (SIGNED)
NEB/GC/FC
20-Jan-2000 04:48 AM EDT (20-Jan-2000 0948 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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