ROK president to visit China in June
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E-mail China Daily, May 24, 2013
Republic of Korea President Park Geun-hye will pay a state visit to China in late June, a long-awaited trip that critics said will strengthen bilateral ties and update ideas for easing Korean Peninsula tensions.
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| Republic of Korea President Park Geun-hye speaks at a dinner after inauguration ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 25, 2013. [File photo] |
In addition to giving a major boost to the ROK's partnership with China, the presidential visit will take place when conditions are ideal for deeper discussion on the Korean Peninsula with China, observers said.
Park's schedule is being closely negotiated by the two countries, and more details will be released soon, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at Thursday's regular news conference.
"Since Park took office, China and the ROK have retained multichannel communications through calling, mailing and sending special envoys, which has further developed Sino-ROK relations. We believe that Park's upcoming visit to Beijing will bring the two nations' relationship to a new level," he added.
Huang Youfu, a professor of Korean studies at Minzu University of China, said Park's upcoming visit is timed favorably to deal with the peninsula situation.
"The visit was proposed long ago, but the schedule now coincides with the DPRK's recent posture for more communication with all parties and its sending an envoy to China on Wednesday," Huang said.
Choe Ryong-hae, special envoy of DPRK leader Kim Jong-un and a member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, arrived in Beijing on Wednesday.
The visit to China will be Park's second overseas trip since she took office in February. In early May, she visited the United States and had talks with US President Barack Obama on beefing up their traditional alliance, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency said.
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