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| Chinese President’s Visit to South Korea Is Seen as Way to Weaken U.S. Alliances | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| SEOUL, South Korea — President Xi Jinping of China arrived in South Korea on Thursday for a state visit to a vital American ally, a move that appears to signal his resolve to unsettle America’s alliances in Northeast Asia and fortify his argument for a new security architecture in the region, with China as the dominant player. | |
| In the past, Chinese leaders have visited their ally North Korea before visiting South Korea, but Mr. Xi seems to be showing the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, the cold shoulder: He has not been to Pyongyang, nor has he invited Mr. Kim to Beijing. | In the past, Chinese leaders have visited their ally North Korea before visiting South Korea, but Mr. Xi seems to be showing the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, the cold shoulder: He has not been to Pyongyang, nor has he invited Mr. Kim to Beijing. |
| Instead, he is embracing President Park Geun-hye of South Korea, where $270 billion in trade with China and Ms. Park’s frosty relations with Japan, America’s prime ally in Asia, offer more prospects for Beijing’s ambitions to undermine the United States. | Instead, he is embracing President Park Geun-hye of South Korea, where $270 billion in trade with China and Ms. Park’s frosty relations with Japan, America’s prime ally in Asia, offer more prospects for Beijing’s ambitions to undermine the United States. |
| Mr. Xi is visiting Seoul in the wake of Japan’s decision on Tuesday to reinterpret its pacifist Constitution to allow its military to play a more assertive role in the region. The announcement is deeply unpopular here and in China, its intended target. | |
| “Xi can’t afford to miss this opportunity to make bad relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea as bitter as possible,” said Chun Yungwoo, the national security adviser to the former South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, in an interview here. He noted that the timing of Mr. Xi’s visit was coincidental, but that “China is trying to draw the Republic of Korea as far away as possible from Japan and the United States.” | “Xi can’t afford to miss this opportunity to make bad relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea as bitter as possible,” said Chun Yungwoo, the national security adviser to the former South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, in an interview here. He noted that the timing of Mr. Xi’s visit was coincidental, but that “China is trying to draw the Republic of Korea as far away as possible from Japan and the United States.” |
| Despite Ms. Park’s tough stance toward Japan — the result of a shared history that reaches back to Japan’s brutal occupation of Korea from 1910 through 1945, and to the Japanese military’s enslavement of Korean and other women during World War II — Ms. Park will not fall for Mr. Xi’s “ferocious courting,” Mr. Chun said. | Despite Ms. Park’s tough stance toward Japan — the result of a shared history that reaches back to Japan’s brutal occupation of Korea from 1910 through 1945, and to the Japanese military’s enslavement of Korean and other women during World War II — Ms. Park will not fall for Mr. Xi’s “ferocious courting,” Mr. Chun said. |
| She knows that Mr. Xi’s goal is to separate the United States, the guarantor of Seoul’s security, from South Korea, where nearly 30,000 American troops are based, and she would be unreceptive to that, he said. | She knows that Mr. Xi’s goal is to separate the United States, the guarantor of Seoul’s security, from South Korea, where nearly 30,000 American troops are based, and she would be unreceptive to that, he said. |
| Even though North Korea is expected to be a sideshow during the visit, the country and its nuclear weapons program will be high on the agenda, officials in both countries said. | |
| “South Korea and China have common goals on denuclearization, but we do have differences,” said Yang Xiyu, a senior fellow at the China Institute for International Studies in Beijing. China, he said, is not aiming for a “pure nonproliferation” outcome in North Korea. | “South Korea and China have common goals on denuclearization, but we do have differences,” said Yang Xiyu, a senior fellow at the China Institute for International Studies in Beijing. China, he said, is not aiming for a “pure nonproliferation” outcome in North Korea. |
| Ms. Park has urged Mr. Xi to use China’s economic leverage as a way to force North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons program. But China, more fearful of instability in North Korea that could spill over to its territory than of it is of a nuclear threat, has refrained, a position that frustrates South Korea and the United States. | Ms. Park has urged Mr. Xi to use China’s economic leverage as a way to force North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons program. But China, more fearful of instability in North Korea that could spill over to its territory than of it is of a nuclear threat, has refrained, a position that frustrates South Korea and the United States. |
| In the face of Mr. Xi’s bold move for a new relationship with South Korea — Ms. Park had a successful trip to China a year ago, and the two leaders get along — Ms. Park is likely to ask for something significant in return, said Evans J. R. Revere, a former deputy secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific. | In the face of Mr. Xi’s bold move for a new relationship with South Korea — Ms. Park had a successful trip to China a year ago, and the two leaders get along — Ms. Park is likely to ask for something significant in return, said Evans J. R. Revere, a former deputy secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific. |
| Even before Mr. Xi landed in Seoul, Japan announced it would ease some sanctions on North Korea after the government of Kim Jong-un pledged it would begin investigations into what happened to Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea decades ago. | |
| The Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, praised North Korea for its speed in setting up a panel to look into the abductions, a highly emotional issue among the Japanese. “This is only a start,” he said in a statement. “We will do our utmost to resolve the issue.” | |
| Japan would lift the entry ban on North Korean registered ships to Japanese ports and ease some restrictions on travel and money transfers, the Japanese cabinet said. | |
| In Washington, the visit is being watched with some wariness. | In Washington, the visit is being watched with some wariness. |
| The assistant secretary for East Asia and the Pacific, Daniel R. Russel, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month that the visit was “an extraordinary milestone.” | The assistant secretary for East Asia and the Pacific, Daniel R. Russel, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month that the visit was “an extraordinary milestone.” |
| The White House remained confident that despite problems between Japan and South Korea, its relationship with Seoul was on solid footing, Mr. Revere said. | The White House remained confident that despite problems between Japan and South Korea, its relationship with Seoul was on solid footing, Mr. Revere said. |
| “This is another effort by China to not so subtly send a message to the United States that it is looking to reshape the region and is willing to throw its weight around in ways that demonstrate China is the major player,” Mr. Revere said recently in Beijing. The effort to “drive a wedge between South Korea and the United States is not going anywhere.” | “This is another effort by China to not so subtly send a message to the United States that it is looking to reshape the region and is willing to throw its weight around in ways that demonstrate China is the major player,” Mr. Revere said recently in Beijing. The effort to “drive a wedge between South Korea and the United States is not going anywhere.” |
| One disagreement between China and South Korea in their talks could be Washington’s recent recommendation that an advanced missile defense system be deployed in South Korea to counter the increasing threat of Pyongyang. Seoul’s Defense Ministry has said it will consider the request when it is formally presented. | |
| At a briefing in Beijing in advance of Mr. Xi’s trip, China’s vice foreign minister, Liu Zhenmin, said China was opposed to the installation of the missile defense system, known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, in South Korea. “The United States and South Korea are allies, but I think South Korea will be cautious to respond to the request because South Korea, like China, wants stability and does not want to see tensions and an arms race,” Mr. Liu said. | |
| In China, Mr. Xi’s visit is being advertised as a breakthrough that will strengthen the already warm ties — Chinese tourists flood into South Korea and large numbers of South Korean students attend Chinese universities. Midsize South Korean companies consider China a place to make fortunes, and Samsung smartphones are the most sought after in China. | In China, Mr. Xi’s visit is being advertised as a breakthrough that will strengthen the already warm ties — Chinese tourists flood into South Korea and large numbers of South Korean students attend Chinese universities. Midsize South Korean companies consider China a place to make fortunes, and Samsung smartphones are the most sought after in China. |
| Compared with the booming trade between South Korea and China, United States trade with South Korea remained stagnant at $125 billion last year, about the same as the previous year. | Compared with the booming trade between South Korea and China, United States trade with South Korea remained stagnant at $125 billion last year, about the same as the previous year. |
| China, however, still has a long way to go in securing its place in South Korean hearts and minds, according to a recent survey. | |
| The survey, by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, showed South Koreans had a more favorable view of China than they did last year. Yet the results also showed that the United States was the most popular foreign country and the most important ally in time of war. | |