20000121

China vows support for end to nuclear arms, Korean stability

SEOUL: China's Defence Minister Chi Haotian said on Thursday Beijing would provide full support in maintaining peace, stability and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula.

"China strongly supports peace, stability and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula, and is working aggressively to fulfil them," Chi told his South Korean counterpart Cho Seong-tae after receiving an official welcome at a war memorial in Seoul.

Chi arrived in Seoul on Wednesday for a five-day trip, marking the first visit by a Chinese defence chief and a major step in improving ties between the former Cold War foes.

The historic visit comes on the heels of a diplomatic row between the two, sparked by Beijing's deportation of North Korean refugees but no demonstrations have been reported.

Seoul's defence ministry said the two ministers shared a view that maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula was "crucial" for the stability of the region and agreed to continue to develop their military relations.

The Korean minister urged China to play a constructive role as South Korea continues to pursue engagement policy with the North in 2000, the ministry said.

China has long been a staunch ally of North Korea, for whom it has been a key source of aid and trade since sending millions of "volunteers" to defend it against the U.S.-led United Nations forces in the 1950-53 war.

A truce has left the two Koreas technically still at war.

After the meeting, Chi will head to South Korea's industrial heartland south of Seoul to tour a high-tech plant.

Chi will visit Samsung Electronics' Kihung semiconductor plant, the world's biggest DRAM computer memory chip facility.

Several high-ranking Chinese officials have toured the plant in the last few years, including Chinese President Jiang Zemin who was the first Chinese president to visit the country in 1995.

Chi is also scheduled to see South Korean military installations on Friday but his trip would be closed to the media "due to China's close relationship with another country" -- an obvious reference to North Korea.

Chi, a vice chairman of the Communist Party's powerful Central Military Commission, met with President Kim Dae-jung on Wednesday.

Kim praised China's role in reducing the threat of war between the two Koreas.

Chi is returning a visit to Beijing by South Korea's defence chief last August when they agreed to expand exchanges in the military sector. Progress in that sector has lagged economic ties, which have blossomed since the former foes normalised diplomatic relations in 1992.

The visit is part of a tour of Britain, Russia and Mongolia. -Reuters