South Korea and China held high-level security talks yesterday in Beijing amid growing concern over a possible provocation by the North following the shock ouster of Jang Song Taek.
The meeting was led by Park Joon Yong, director of Northeast Asian affairs at South Korea’s foreign ministry, and Luo Zhaohui, director-general of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of Asian Affairs. It was agreed that such meetings would continue on an annual basis.
Items on the agenda included the current situation on the Korean Peninsula, the increasing importance of cooperation and the need for enhanced communication within the security realm.
The shared goal of a peaceful and denuclearized peninsula was reconfirmed, and both sides pledged to continue to press forward on the North Korean nuclear issue.
Other areas of mutual interest raised in the meeting included energy and nuclear power security, climate change and cyber security.
Despite confirmation from a South Korean government spokesperson that the “Jang Song Taek incident” and issues pertaining to the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) were raised, no further details were provided.
