SKorea’s Park faces China opposition during G20 meet

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL (AA) - South Korea and China have failed to iron out differences over Seoul’s plan to deploy a controversial United States' anti-missile system, following talks between their respective leaders.

Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou.

Reports out of Seoul and Beijing on Monday offered contrasting sides of a disagreement that intensified in July after the South Korea revealed alongside the United States that a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery would be deployed on the peninsula by the end of next year.

China’s Xinhua News Agency revealed that Xi conveyed his opposition to the THAAD plan, echoing Beijing’s repeated concerns about the American system’s impact on its own regional security interests.

“Mishandling the issue is not conducive to strategic stability in the region and could intensify disputes,” Xi reportedly told Park.

However, the South Korean president insisted her country is feeling an “unprecedented” level of threat from North Korea.

Pyongyang strengthened its position by testing three ballistic missiles Monday lunchtime – highlighting the fact that China has failed to contain the nuclear weapon development of its traditional ally, even as Xi reiterated Beijing’s support for a denuclearized Korean Peninsula and commitment to United Sanctions aimed at curbing the North’s ambitions.

“THAAD is a tool designed only to respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile [threats], and there is no reason why THAAD should encroach upon the security interests of a third country and there is no need for that either,” Park was quoted as saying by a presidential secretary via local news agency Yonhap.

Both leaders signaled their hopes for improving ties based on shared interests, but there was also no reliable indication that they would find a way past contrasting attitudes towards Washington’s security role in the region.

Chinese state media went so far last month as to warn that in case of a clash with the U.S., South Korea would be the “first military target”.