S. Korea to start domestic procedures to launch FTA talks with China
Yonhap News, Korea
S. Korea to start domestic procedures to launch FTA talks with China
9 January 2012
BEIJING, Jan. 9 (Yonhap) — South Korean President Lee Myung-bak told his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao that Seoul will soon begin domestic procedures for the start of formal negotiations with Beijing on forging a bilateral free trade agreement, a presidential official said Monday.
Lee communicated the intention to Hu during their summit talks in Beijing, the Seoul official said on the condition of anonymity. Once Seoul smoothly completes its local procedures, it is possible the two sides could announce the start of formal trade talks in the first half of this year.
However, the official said he can’t rule out a delay in launching free trade talks with China if exploratory talks to set parameters for any deal hit a snag or the move faces local resistance.
It was the first summit for Lee and Hu since North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died of a heart attack on Dec. 17, raising regional concerns that the abrupt death could disturb the status quo that has kept stability on the volatile Korean Peninsula.
The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and maintaining peace and stability on the divided peninsula.
Since the sudden demise of the North’s longtime ruler, his young and untested son, Kim Jong-un, has taken the helm of Pyongyang. Although the sensitive transfer of dynastic power to the new leader, believed to be in his late 20s, seems to be running smoothly, experts question whether the young Kim can consolidate his grip on power.
Little is known about the North’s new leader and the succession process has been shrouded in secrecy. Many analysts have forecast that Pyongyang may launch another provocation this year to solidify its internal political order.
China, which has diplomatic relations with the two Koreas, is economically close to South Korea, but is North Korea’s main benefactor and ideological ally.
During the summit, Lee and Hu agreed to develop the strategic cooperative partnership between the two nations as they mark the 20th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations, the official said.
Since 2008, South Korea and China have held a series of joint feasibility studies on a possible free trade deal and reached an agreement to exchange views on sensitive issues.
China is the largest buyer of South Korean-made goods and has contributed to Seoul’s sizable trade surplus in recent years, while South Korea is China’s third-largest trading partner after the United States and Japan.
Bilateral trade between the two reached US$188.4 billion in 2010. Both countries are expecting the volume to top $300 billion in 2015, according to Seoul’s trade ministry.
Meanwhile, Lee also called for a regional dialogue that would meet the conditions for the resumption of long-stalled talks on ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs, according to Kim Tae-hyo, Lee’s deputy national security advisor.
South Korea and the United States held two respective rounds of talks with North Korea prior to Kim’s sudden death as part of diplomatic efforts to revive the nuclear talks.
North Korea has repeatedly called for a quick resumption of the nuclear talks without preconditions, but South Korea and the United States insist Pyongyang must first take concrete steps to show its sincerity, such as a shutdown of its uranium enrichment plant.
The aid-for-disarmament talks, which also involve China, Japan and Russia, were last held in Beijing in late 2008.
Chinese officials reportedly called for cooperation of the related countries to help revive the disarmament talks.
The two leaders also agreed to make efforts to combat illegal Chinese fishing in South Korea’s exclusive economic zone.
Last month, one South Korean Coast Guard commando was killed and another was injured in stabbings by Chinese sailors caught illegally fishing near Korean waters in the Yellow Sea off Incheon, west of Seoul.
