The chairman of South Korea’s ruling Grand National Party has complained in strong terms about China’s apparent decision to allow Kim Jong Il to visit the country in the wake of the sinking of the Cheonan.
Chung Mong Joon said, “It is disappointing and worrisome that China is accepting the visit of Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong Il during a tragic period due to the Cheonan incident.”
In a meeting of the supreme council of the Grand National Party, Chung said, “Even though the Chinese political system is different from ours, it respects international humanitarian rules and other important values. Therefore, China’s leaders should transmit clearly our worries and anger at the Cheonan incident to Kim Jong Il when they meet with him.”
Chung emphasized, “The Korean people, who are in an economic and cultural alliance with China, expect that China will take a firm attitude to Kim Jong Il, who has been causing constant tension in Northeast Asia with his provocations.”
He added, “Since President Hu Jintao agreed with the ‘nuclear-free world’ suggested by President Obama during the Nuclear Security Summit in April, he should of course tell Kim that he will never accept North Korea as a nuclear state.”
Chung pointed out, “If the Cheonan was destroyed by an external attack, it was an obvious military provocation and a serious defiance of the community of human beings in an international society which is striving to create world peace and prosperity.”
