TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Editorial: North Korea and us
The fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping has held six bilateral summits with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in just the last two years â their last encounter came on Wednesday â should send a very clear message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that China has lost patience with his leadership
Change Size
T
he fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping has held six bilateral summits with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in just the last two years ' their last encounter came on Wednesday ' should send a very clear message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that China has lost patience with his leadership.
Beijing has not given the North Korean supreme leader, who replaced his late father Kim Jong-il on Dec., 17, 2011, a chance to meet with the Chinese president, who came to power on March 14, 2013. President Park, meanwhile, began her five-year term on Feb. 25, 2013.
China is the North's most important, arguably only, ally, as well as its most important donor and economic partner. The decision of the Chinese leader to openly express his distaste for Kim's regime was a strong reflection of China's impatience with the impoversihed nation. Pyongyang has, put simply, become a headache and burden for Beijing.
In a statement after meeting with President Xi in Beijing on Wednesday, Park said, 'I would like to thank China for playing a constructive role in easing the recent tense situation on the Korean peninsula by communicating closely with us.'
As reported by Reuters, President Xi did not directly address the recent tension, but highlighted the growing ties between the South and China, particularly in trade and financial matters.
'China and the Republic of Korea are good friends and strong promoters of regional and world peace. Looking at history, our two peoples have had very similar struggles for liberation,' Xi said.
What stance should Indonesia take on the North-South divide on the Korean peninsula? South Korea is a major trading and economic partner, while we gain little economic benefit from the North.
Indonesia has frequently enjoyed positioning itself as a power that can help mediate the two archrivals. If we were honest, though, we would acknowledge that there is little we can do to get Pyongyang to return to the negotiating table and reach a peaceful solution to the nuclear arms race the North is waging.
As a senior Indonesian diplomat recently remarked, Indonesia has no choice but to prioritize South Korea in its foreign policy. With even China largely helpless on this issue, our leaders are deluding themselves if they think they can persuade North Korea to commit to peace.
