South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Chinese President Hu Jintao agreed Wednesday to expand bilateral economic cooperation and increase joint efforts for a peaceful resolution to the North Korean nuclear standoff.
In a joint statement issued at the end of a summit at Chong Wa Dae in Seoul, Roh and Hu reaffirmed a ``comprehensive cooperative partnership,’’ through which the two neighboring nations aim to double their bilateral trade _ currently at less than $100 billion _ by 2012.

<##IMAGE##>Roh expressed gratitude to Hu for Beijing’s active role in the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, while the Chinese leader praised Seoul’s peace and prosperity policy toward the North.

``Both sides welcomed the joint statement from the fourth round of six-party talks held in Beijing and shared the view that the statement had laid the foundation for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,’’ the Roh-Hu statement said.

Officials in Seoul said the two heads of state had in-depth talks on the nuclear issue as Hu explained his recent trip to Pyongyang to Roh. Hu met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during his visit on Oct. 28-30.

``President Hu told me that the North’s leader Kim Jong-il reaffirmed his determination for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula while speaking highly of the Sept. 19 joint statement released at the end of the six-party talks,’’ Roh said in a joint press conference.

Hu said he and Roh also agreed to promote exchanges of high-level government officials and set up a hotline between their foreign ministers and launch an annual meeting between vice foreign ministers as part of efforts to increase cooperation in defense and security fields.

``In the one-and-a-half hour talks, the two leaders also exchanged views on a broader picture of the situation in Northeast Asia, such as the disputes in the region caused by Japan’s problematic historical recognition,’’ a government official said. ``It was a really useful meeting.’’

In addition to security issues, the two leaders discussed measures to improve bilateral ties, especially in the fields of economy, science and technology, as well as culture and tourism, according to the presidential office.

South Korea, in particular, decided to accord market economy status to China, a step toward recognizing China as a full market economy, and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the expansion of economic cooperation after the summit meeting.

China and South Korea also decided to designate 2007, which marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations, as the ``South Korea-China Exchange Year’’ to promote cooperation in the cultural area and personnel exchanges.

Hu gave Roh two four-year-old ``Paektu-san Tigers,’’ one of the endangered species of Korea, as a special gift. The original habitat of the peculiar tigers, Paektu-san is a sacred mountain for Koreans, which is located on the border of North Korea and China.

Roh hosted a state dinner for Hu, where South Korea’s representative hallyu (Korean wave) stars, including actress Chang Na-ra and actor Song Il-guk, were in attendance.

Hu arrived here for a two-day visit at the invitation of Roh who visited China two years ago. He is the first Chinese head of state to visit Seoul since former President Jiang Zemin visited Seoul in 1995.

Ending his brief itinerary in Seoul, including a speech to the National Assembly Thursday, Hu will leave for Pusan (Busan) to attend the Nov. 18-19 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.



jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr

11-16-2005