China refuses to publicly cite concerns to avoid angering Pyongyang
Kyodo
BEIJING — The leaders of China, Japan and South
Korea released a joint declaration Monday, a day after their annual
Beijing summit omitted any reference to one of the most pressing topics
of discussion: North Korea.
At the conclusion of their one-day meeting
Sunday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and
South Korean President Lee Myung Bak said they agreed to make efforts to
prevent North Korea from committing further provocative acts, after
Pyongyang's failed launch one month ago of a rocket using ballistic
missile technology that was carried out in defiance of U.N. Security
Council resolutions. But the three later disagreed on how to word the
part on North Korea in the joint declaration, diplomats said. China,
which is close to North Korea, didn't want to state anything that might
anger Pyongyang, the diplomats said.
On Monday, however, the three tiptoed around
the possibility that the North might provoke the region by holding
another nuclear test by issuing a variety of rhetorical responses via
various officials.
Chinese President Hu Jintao, Noda and Lee
decided to confirm the importance of collaborating closely to prevent
tensions on the Korean Peninsula from escalating, Japanese officials
said.
Hu promised that China will continue to do
its best to persuade the North not to act against the interests of
regional stability, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tsuyoshi Saito said.
Noda told Hu and Lee the three countries
"share the view" that it is necessary for them to call on North Korea
not to take provocative actions, Saito said.
Later the day, Luo Zhaohui, head of the
Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of Asian Affairs, told reporters
the joint declaration didn't mention North Korea because of
"insufficient space."
"The joint statement did not mention the
issue, but does it mean that this issue is not important? Of course not.
The issue is very important," he said.
Other diplomats familiar with the leaders'
meetings said, however, that Beijing's reluctance to offend its
traditional ally Pyongyang led it to rebuff attempts by Japanese and
South Korean officials to include a reference to North Korea in the
official document.
The international community is concerned that
North Korea will carry out a third nuclear test. Pyongyang's young
leader, Kim Jong Un, is trying to consolidate power following the death
of his father and long-time ruler, Kim Jong Il, in December.
During the trilateral summit, Noda, Lee and
Wen frankly discussed issues related to North Korea but did not touch on
whatmeasures the three might take if Pyongyang goes ahead with another
provocation, according to the officials.
South Korea was interested in clearly stating
in the declaration that North Korea should refrain from carrying out a
third nuclear test, the diplomats said. Until the late hours of Sunday,
senior officials of Japan and South Korea tried to persuade their
Chinese counterparts to incorporate their views on North Korea into the
declaration, but to no avail, and the three in the end dropped all
references to the North from their joint statement.
After the summit ended in the morning, Wen
said that each country "should fully exercise their wisdom, remain
patient, show their goodwill to ease confrontation and make efforts to
return to the right track of dialogue and negotiations," when engaging
North Korea.
