S. Korea, China to hold high-level talks on N. Korea next week

SEOUL, Dec 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and China will hold high-level talks in Seoul next week to exchange views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula following the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, a senior Seoul official said Friday.

The one-day meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, will be led by South Korean First Vice Minister Park Suk-hwan and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun, said the official at the foreign ministry.

"The meeting is aimed at sharing views on the current situation after the passing of Kim Jong-il and consulting on the way forward regarding the Korean Peninsula," the official said on the condition of anonymity.

In the wake of the abrupt death of Kim, analysts expect China to bolster its support for North Korea as Beijing wants to avoid any instability in the North to avoid a mass influx of refugees. For China, North Korea is also considered a buffer zone to the U.S. alliance with South Korea.

Thus far, South Korean and U.S. military officials have detected no abnormal military movements in North Korea and initial reports by the North's media suggest that Kim Jong-un is in control.

A day after the bombshell news of Kim's death was announced Monday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi talked by telephone and agreed on the importance of ensuring peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. The two ministers also vowed to keep in close communication and cooperation.

Seoul's chief nuclear negotiator Lim Sung-nam met his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei on Friday during a two-day visit to Beijing to discuss the aftermath of the death of Kim and how to continue diplomatic efforts to revive the six-party talks on the North's nuclear weapons program.

Next week's talks between Park and Zhang are also expected to touch on future plans regarding the North Korean nuclear issue, the official said.

"Overall issues will be on the table at the talks nex! t week, including the matter of the six-party talks," he said.

The six-party nuclear talks, which involve the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the U.S., have been dormant since the last session in late 2008.

The death of Kim put a brake on a flurry of renewed diplomatic efforts to resume long-stalled talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

Before Kim's demise, North Korea had been expected to announce it would suspend its uranium enrichment program and accept U.N. nuclear monitors in exchange for food aid. Such North Korean moves are preconditions set by the U.S. and South Korea for resuming broader six-party talks. (Yonhap)