Lee to discuss Ship Sinking Tragedy with Chinese Counterpart

By Lee, Jeong-eun

President Lee Myung-bak is expected to deal with the progress of Seoul’s  investigation into what caused the naval ship Cheonan to sink last month, and possibly request cooperation from China when he meets his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao on Friday, a presidential source said.

President Lee will attend the opening ceremony of the 2010 World Expo during his visit Shanghai on April 30 and May 1, and the summit meeting is expected to be held for only 30 minutes like "mini-summit."

The Foreign Ministry spokesman said that the ministry believes that the two leaders may discuss the issue while they talk over bilateral relations and regional issues at the summit.

“In particular, the issue may arise when the two discuss the latest developments in the North Korean nuclear issue,” the spokesman added.

China is chair of the six-nation talks aimed at ending the North’s nuclear weapons programs and also is a traditionally close ally to Pyongyang.

Its cooperation, along with those of the other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, will be critical as Seoul plans to present the Cheonan issue to the U.N. should it find North Korea to be involved.

President Lee last week called for international support in the investigation.

Moreover, Lee and Hu will discuss ways of expanding the strategic partnership between the two countries and exchange views on regional issues.

A presidential aide said that two leaders will deal with the Free Trade Agreement(FTA) between Korea and China as well as cooperations on green growth, IT and electronics. 

One of South Korean government officials said that although the prime purpose of Lee’s visit to China on Friday is to attend the opening of the Expo, possible discussions on China’s role in sorting out the Cheonan disaster cannot be overlooked.

“China expressed deep concern for the loss of life and the tragedy. I think they are watching carefully in terms of how this process is playing out,” the official said.
 

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