South Korea says it will engage China in ‘different ways’, as Beijing condemns Washington Declaration

China says the Washington Declaration would ‘worsen tensions on the peninsula, undermine the nuclear non-proliferation regime and regional stability’

Seoul also called on China to play its part in upholding peace in the region and bringing nuclear-armed Pyongyang to the negotiating table

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US President Joe Biden also pledged to involve bilateral presidential consultations in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack and the establishment of a nuclear consultative group during South Korean Presiden Yoon Suk-yeol’s five-day state visit to the US. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 5:00pm, 2 May 2023

Seoul has sought to assuage Beijing’s concerns over the outcomes of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s recent trip to the United States, saying it was a sign of transformation of ties between the two long-time allies and not a move to “isolate a particular country” like China.

Foreign Minister Park Jin described Yoon’s summit with US President Joe Biden – during which the two announced nuclear deterrence efforts that call for regularly deploying American nuclear-armed submarines to South Korea for the first time in decades – as “the blueprint for the development of a new Seoul-Washington alliance based on freedom, democracy and the rule of law”.

Biden also pledged to involve bilateral presidential consultations in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack and the establishment of a nuclear consultative group during Yoon’s five-day state visit to the US that ended on April 28.

During Yoon’s summit with Biden, South Korea and the US announced nuclear deterrence efforts that call for regularly deploying American nuclear-armed submarines to South Korea for the first time in decades. Photo: dpa

China last week condemned the security agreement – dubbed the Washington Declaration – bolstering the US nuclear umbrella over South Korea, saying the Biden administration’s plans would “worsen tensions on the peninsula, undermine the nuclear non-proliferation regime and regional stability”.

In response, the US State Department asked China not to “overreact”.

But Park told a forum on Monday that Seoul would look for ways to engage with Beijing in “different ways”, calling on the United Nations Security Council’s permanent member to play its part in upholding peace in the region and bringing the nuclear-armed Pyongyang to the negotiating table.

He said China should consider “if North Korea threatening the stability of the peninsula serves Beijing’s own national interests”, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported.

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