South Korean President Seoul, Beijing hold talks amid disrupted ASEAN meeting

PATTAYA, Thailand, April 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao discussed North Korea Saturday as the U.N. Security Council was considering a response to Pyongyang's recent rocket launch.

Lee and Wen were in Thailand for the annual summit of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which was called off abruptly due to
anti-government protests.
As the Thai government declared a state of emergency to cope with chaotic
anti-government protests, Lee and Wen changed their original meeting site and
instead met at the hotel where Lee was staying.
"President Lee noted that there was close and active cooperation between South
Korea and China at the United Nations in regard to the North's long-range rocket
launch," Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said in a news release.
Wen replied that China hopes to work closer with South Korea at times of
difficulties, especially on the unfolding global financial crisis, it said.
North Korea fired off a rocket it says orbited a satellite, a claim denied by
South Korea and the U.S. South Korea and its allies believe the North's claimed
rocket launch was a cover to test-fire a long-range missile.
Lee and Wen also discussed the canceled ASEAN summit with their countries and
Japan, the Cheong Wa Dae statement said.
"President Lee and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao expressed concern over the delay of
the ASEAN Plus Three summit despite the importance of the summit for regional
cooperation," it said.
Lee and the Chinese premier were scheduled to hold three-way talks with Japanese
Prime Minister Taro Aso later Saturday to discuss issues of mutual interest and
what South Korean officials have called their "joint action" toward the delayed
ASEAN summit.
Lee plans to cut short his stay in Thailand by one day and return home later
Saturday, his office said.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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