Comparative Connections v.12 n.2 - China-Korea Relations

The March 26 sinking of the ROK warship Cheonan served as the backdrop for a series of high-level exchanges between China and the two Koreas. Kim Jong-il paid an “unofficial” visit to China and met President Hu Jintao in Beijing days after ROK President Lee Myung-bak’s summit with Hu. Lee and Hu held another round of bilateral talks on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, pledging to strengthen the China-ROK strategic cooperative partnership despite unresolved tensions over North Korea. Premier Wen Jiabao paid a three-day visit to South Korea prior to the third China-ROK-Japan Trilateral Summit in Jeju. South Korea referred the Cheonan incident to the UN Security Council after results of an international investigation were released. Meanwhile, Beijing has repeatedly called for “calm and restraint” in dealing with the crisis.