S. Korea-China Summit Draws Mixed Response From Parties

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S. Korea-China summit draws mixed response from parties

Political parties on Friday gave mixed reactions to the outcome of the summit between South Korea and China which underscored the two countries' pursuit of a peaceful solution to the standoff with North Korea over its nuclear program

SEOUL,(APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Dec, 2017 ) :Political parties on Friday gave mixed reactions to the outcome of the summit between South Korea and China which underscored the two countries' pursuit of a peaceful solution to the standoff with North Korea over its nuclear program.

During their talks in Beijing, Presidents Moon Jae-in and Xi Jinping agreed on "four principles" in handling Pyongyang's threat: no tolerance for war, a firm resolve to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, resolution of the situation through dialogue and negotiations, and the view that improved inter-Korean ties will help address issues surrounding the peninsula.

The ruling Democratic Party welcomed the agreement, voicing hopes for an improvement in South Korea-China ties, which have been strained over the installation of a U.S. missile defense system that Beijing says could undermine its security interests.

"We hail the agreement on the four principles for the peaceful resolution of the Korean Peninsula issues, and in particular, we honor the fact that the two sides decided to maintain close communication by establishing a direct hotline (between the leaders)," Kim Hyun, the party's spokeswoman, said in her commentary.

"We expect that the bilateral agreement will help activate exchanges in all areas, including politics, economy, diplomacy, culture and people-to-people exchanges," she added.

Opposition parties played down the significance of the summit agreement and took issue with the fact that the two leaders neither held a joint press conference nor issued a joint declaration following their meeting.

"When the North may already have nuclear arms, their mention of the principle of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, after all, amounts to pardoning the North for its possession of nuclear arms," said Chang Je-won, the spokesman of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party.

The summit was overshadowed by an assault case in which two South Korean photojournalists accompanying Moon were beaten and injured by Chinese security personnel. Opposition parties called the incident a "major fiasco" and noted that the South Korean leader was not properly treated during this state visit, given that he was greeted by a relatively low-level Beijing official on the tarmac Wednesday.

Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of the People's Party, said that the assault case "bruised the pride" of South Koreans. He called on Moon to hold Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Ambassador to China Noh Young-min responsible for the case.

"How can a government that allows journalists to be assaulted protect its citizens " Ahn asked during a meeting with party seniors. "It has to squarely face the fact that citizens' pride has been bruised by the case."