ID :
205658
Wed, 09/07/2011 - 05:13
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/205658
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea-U.S. ties to grow in importance despite China's rise: FM
SEOUL, Sept. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's alliance with the United States will become more important in spite of China's rising global clout, Seoul's top diplomat said Wednesday, reaffirming the critically important role of the alliance in a region home to an unpredictable North Korea.
"Of course, our alliance with the U.S. will continue to be a cornerstone of our diplomacy in the future although China is emerging as a global power," Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan told a forum in Seoul.
"Our relations with the U.S. are now stronger than ever," Kim said, but South Korea needs to steer a "harmonious" diplomatic course with China because Beijing "will eventually play a key role in the reunification of the Korean Peninsula."
South Korea is facing a tough challenge of how it will respond to China's rise as a global economic and military power, given its deepening economic ties with Beijing.
China is South Korea's largest trading partner with two-way trade totaling US$188.4 billion last year, after the European Union and the U.S. Beijing is also Seoul's biggest investment destination.
Last year, China surpassed Japan as the world's No. 2 economy. Beijing is building an aircraft carrier and developing a new stealth fighter, prompting the U.S. military to warn that China's military upgrade could destabilize the region.
Kim said that an "amicable" relationship between the U.S. and China would positively affect geopolitical situations on the Korean Peninsula.
"Looking back on the past, the situation on the Korean Peninsula was in good shape when U.S.-China relations were amicable. And when U.S.-China relations were not good, neither was the situation on the Korean Peninsula," the foreign minister said.
"Based on the alliance with the U.S., I think that harmonious relations with China will eventually help us achieve reunification," Kim said.
Along with the U.S. and North Korea, China was a signatory to the cease-fire on the Korean Peninsula in 1953. There has never been a formal treaty officially ending the 1950-53 Korean War that divided the two Koreas.
Inter-Korean relations plunged to one of their lowest levels last year following the North's two deadly military attacks on the South that killed a total of 50 South Koreans.
China has diplomatic relations with the two Koreas, but has failed to participate in international condemnation of the North's military provocations.
"Of course, our alliance with the U.S. will continue to be a cornerstone of our diplomacy in the future although China is emerging as a global power," Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan told a forum in Seoul.
"Our relations with the U.S. are now stronger than ever," Kim said, but South Korea needs to steer a "harmonious" diplomatic course with China because Beijing "will eventually play a key role in the reunification of the Korean Peninsula."
South Korea is facing a tough challenge of how it will respond to China's rise as a global economic and military power, given its deepening economic ties with Beijing.
China is South Korea's largest trading partner with two-way trade totaling US$188.4 billion last year, after the European Union and the U.S. Beijing is also Seoul's biggest investment destination.
Last year, China surpassed Japan as the world's No. 2 economy. Beijing is building an aircraft carrier and developing a new stealth fighter, prompting the U.S. military to warn that China's military upgrade could destabilize the region.
Kim said that an "amicable" relationship between the U.S. and China would positively affect geopolitical situations on the Korean Peninsula.
"Looking back on the past, the situation on the Korean Peninsula was in good shape when U.S.-China relations were amicable. And when U.S.-China relations were not good, neither was the situation on the Korean Peninsula," the foreign minister said.
"Based on the alliance with the U.S., I think that harmonious relations with China will eventually help us achieve reunification," Kim said.
Along with the U.S. and North Korea, China was a signatory to the cease-fire on the Korean Peninsula in 1953. There has never been a formal treaty officially ending the 1950-53 Korean War that divided the two Koreas.
Inter-Korean relations plunged to one of their lowest levels last year following the North's two deadly military attacks on the South that killed a total of 50 South Koreans.
China has diplomatic relations with the two Koreas, but has failed to participate in international condemnation of the North's military provocations.
