Obama, South Korean President to Discuss North Korea Threat on Friday

“On the basis of South Korea-U.S. cooperation, (we) will constantly elicit China’s constructive role”, said the ministry.

“Today, President Park and I are reaffirming our nations will never accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state”.

A peace treaty that legitimizes the separation of the two Koreas would also run counter to South Korean President Park’s calls for peaceful unification as the “the fundamental solution” to resolve the nuclear dispute and bring lasting peace to the Korean peninsula.

“Park and Obama will discuss how to promote better dialogue with China on a path forward in reining in this hard regime”, according to an analysis by the Center for Strategic global Studies (CSIS).

Park decided on South Korea’s participation in the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and attended the military parade China held to mark the anniversary of its “victory over Japan” in World War II.

But Obama said he had no problem with Park meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping, and joked that Xi “was in this room, eating my food”, during a state visit to the USA last month.

Hailing the Washington-Seoul alliance as the “lynchpin” of security on the Korean Peninsula, Obama welcomed Park Geun-Hye to the White House and said his nuclear deal with Iran carried lessons for Northeast Asia. “It’s stronger than it’s ever been”, Obama said. The visit marks the South Korean leader’s second visit to Washington since becoming president in 2013.

From a broader regional perspective, the South Korean strategy of avoiding choices between the United States and China is under increasing strain. “They can be found in every single corner of our land … and their economic and social contributions to America and to our bilateral relationship are profound”. In addition, Washington should re-examine the policies that have contributed to the stunning success of South Korea and how they might apply universally.

Her comments come on the eve of a meeting with US President Barack Obama, who has been eager to see the two U.S. allies reconcile. In addition, US presidential candidates and the Congress should closely examine the North Korean case as Washington embarks on an eerily similar deal with Iran. But she also reemphasized her ultimate goal of working toward an eventual “unification” between North and South. “Pyongyang needs to understand it will not achieve the economic development it seeks so long as it clings to nuclear weapons”, he said. As recently as August, tensions flared when land mines maimed two South Korean soldiers on the border. Reunions of Korean families divided by the Korean War six decades ago are due to take place October 20, but it remains unclear if the two sides will resume high-level talks. It is more than capable of contributing to USA and allied efforts at pushing back against China’s aggression.