ID :
54189
Tue, 04/07/2009 - 10:03
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/54189
The shortlink copeid
Lee calls on China to help put end to N. Korean rocket launches
By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, April 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called for China's support in dealing with North Korea Monday, one day after the communist North launched a long-range rocket in what it claimed to be a space development program.
Lee made the request in a meeting with a visiting delegation from the Communist
Party of China (CPC), headed by Li Changchun, chief of the CPC propaganda and
cultural affairs bureau and the party's fifth highest official.
"President Lee and Li agreed China must play a large role to resolve the issue of
North Korea's long-range rocket launch," Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa
Dae said of the meeting in a released statement.
The visiting Chinese official said his country will work closely with the South
Korean government to resolve the issue.
South Korea, along with the United States and Japan, is trying to punish North
Korea with new U.N. sanctions as Pyongyang launched the rocket in the face of
repeated warnings.
Pyongyang claims to have successfully put a communications satellite into orbit,
but Seoul and Washington believe it was a disguise for a long-range missile test.
But China, a close ally of the North usually more sympathetic to the communist
nation, is likely to block any attempt to impose new U.N.-imposed sanctions.
China and Russia, another close ally of Pyongyang, are both permanent members of
the U.N. Security Council that have veto power.
Li's visit here was made as part of a regular exchange program aimed at improving
political and diplomatic ties between the countries. His delegation also included
Wang Jiarui, head of the CPC's international department who met with North Korean
leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang earlier in the year, becoming the first foreign
guest to have seen Kim since his reported stroke last summer.
"President Lee and Li Changchun noted the two countries made significant progress
in establishing a strategic cooperative partnership last year and agreed to
continue working toward that end this year by expanding exchanges of high-ranking
officials," Cheong Wa Dae said.
SEOUL, April 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called for China's support in dealing with North Korea Monday, one day after the communist North launched a long-range rocket in what it claimed to be a space development program.
Lee made the request in a meeting with a visiting delegation from the Communist
Party of China (CPC), headed by Li Changchun, chief of the CPC propaganda and
cultural affairs bureau and the party's fifth highest official.
"President Lee and Li agreed China must play a large role to resolve the issue of
North Korea's long-range rocket launch," Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa
Dae said of the meeting in a released statement.
The visiting Chinese official said his country will work closely with the South
Korean government to resolve the issue.
South Korea, along with the United States and Japan, is trying to punish North
Korea with new U.N. sanctions as Pyongyang launched the rocket in the face of
repeated warnings.
Pyongyang claims to have successfully put a communications satellite into orbit,
but Seoul and Washington believe it was a disguise for a long-range missile test.
But China, a close ally of the North usually more sympathetic to the communist
nation, is likely to block any attempt to impose new U.N.-imposed sanctions.
China and Russia, another close ally of Pyongyang, are both permanent members of
the U.N. Security Council that have veto power.
Li's visit here was made as part of a regular exchange program aimed at improving
political and diplomatic ties between the countries. His delegation also included
Wang Jiarui, head of the CPC's international department who met with North Korean
leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang earlier in the year, becoming the first foreign
guest to have seen Kim since his reported stroke last summer.
"President Lee and Li Changchun noted the two countries made significant progress
in establishing a strategic cooperative partnership last year and agreed to
continue working toward that end this year by expanding exchanges of high-ranking
officials," Cheong Wa Dae said.
