hankyoreh

left

By Hwang Joon bum and Park Min-hee, Beijing Correspondent

President Lee Myung-bak on Monday strongly condemned North Korea’s recent artillery attack on the Yeonpyeong Island near the border, calling it an “inhumane crime.”

“A military attack on civilians is a crime against humanity strictly prohibited even during a war,” Lee said in a televised speech to South Korean people.

Lee said, “(South Korea) will make North Korea pay the due price by all means for its provocation from now on.”

He appealed to the South Korean people for unity, while offering a public apology for security loopholes and the sloppy response.

The Lee government also effectively rejected an abrupt proposal from China on Sunday to hold emergency discussions early next month among senior representatives for the six-party talks on the North Korea nuclear issue.

On Saturday, State Councilor Dai Bingguo was sent to South Korea with the effective status of special envoy for Chinese President Hu Jintao.

But with a significant difference of views between Seoul and Beijing on the method for resolving tensions, experts say it is unlikely the situation will improve in the near future.

At an emergency press conference called at the Chinese Foreign Ministry Complex in Beijing on Sunday afternoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula affairs Wu Dawei, China’s senior representative for the six-party talks, said that China “has carefully studied matters based on the Sept. 19 Joint Statement of 2005 in order to respond suitably to the political situation on the Korean Peninsula.”

“We propose that the senior representatives to the six-party talks engage in emergency discussions in Beijing in early December so that the different countries can exchange opinions on the major issues that they are interested in,” Wu added.

Immediately after China’s announcement, the Lee Myung-bak administration issued a statement from a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson in which it effectively expressed its refusal of the proposal. “Holding a meeting of senior representatives for the six-party talks is something that should be considered very carefully,” the statement read.

Senior secretary for public affairs Hong Sang-pyo said that during a meeting at the Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) on Sunday morning between Dai and President Lee Myung-bak, “There was mention from China regarding the six-party talks, but it was not emphasized in the discussions.”

The president “made it clear that now is not the time for discussing” the six-party talks, Hong added.

Hong said that Dai communicated a message from the supreme Chinese leadership, and the meeting lasted an unusually long two hours and 15 minutes.

China currently appears to have begun diplomatic efforts in earnest to manage the political situation on the Korean Peninsula, where tensions are heightening due to North Korea’s artillery assault on Yeonpyeong Island and joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises.

Dai’s visit was virtually without precedent in its abruptness. China notified Seoul about Dai‘s plans to visit through the South Korean embassy in Beijing at around noon Saturday, and Dai arrived at Incheon Airport by chartered flight at 6 p.m. the same day, just six hours later.

Also, while China had given sudden notice to the South Korean government last Wednesday evening of the cancellation of Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi’s scheduled South Korea visit on Nov. 26 and 27, four days later it sent a higher-status representative to South Korea, with deputy prime minister-level Dai visiting in the capacity of special envoy.

Analysts are primarily interpreting Dai’s visit as expressing China’s intent to take active diplomatic steps to mitigate military tensions and manage the situation on the peninsula stemming from North Korea’s shelling of Yeonpyeong Island. Indications of this were present in Dai’s repeated emphasis of “objectivity and restraint” and on “dialogue and communication” during his meetings with President Lee and Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan.

In addition, with the United States and international community stepping up pressure on China to “curb North Korea,” analysts are seeing the move to have the high-ranking Dai undertake active diplomatic efforts as stemming from a perceived need to demonstrate such efforts to the outside world.

Observers say this is also probably linked with Chinese concerns about heading off an increasing “South Korea-U.S.-Japan vs. North Korea-China” strategic framework within Northeast Asia by addressing increasing complaints in South Korea that China, despite professing neutrality, has been effectively sheltering North Korea.

A South Korean government official said that Dai’s South Korea visit “can be viewed as part of the same efforts as Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi’s series of telephone conversations with the Japanese and Russian foreign ministers.”

Meanwhile, observers are suggesting that a more immediate reason for Dai’s sudden visit may be that North Korea notified China of the possibility for additional provocations. However, a senior government official said that China “did not communicate any perspective from North Korea.”

The official also noted that China “communicated that it is working to persuade Pyongyang as well.”

Observers predict that Dai’s visit will have some effect in mitigating the severe tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Also, some are predicting that Dai or another similarly ranked senior Chinese official will visit North Korea in the near future.

Analysts say Dai’s South Korea visit and China’s continued efforts at mediation are unlikely to result in a fast turnaround in the situation on the peninsula, as Seoul is unlikely to accept the Chinese solution emphasizing dialogue and communication while emotions are running high over the attack on Yeonpyeong Island.

“We said that if there are additional provocations from North Korea, we will have no choice but to respond sternly,” a senior government official said.

“We also made it clear to China what we are anticipating,” the official added.

This indicates a determination in Seoul that there needs to a substantial cooling-off period and a change in stance from North Korea if dialogue is to take place.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]