[Yonhap Photo]
Using an equivocal and pedantic expression, China's top envoy in South Korea urged the two countries to go "back to the basics" in ending their prolonged diplomatic row over a US missile shield as they did 25 years ago to normalize diplomatic relations.
The value of going back to the basics has become more important, Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong said in a speech at a Seoul forum marking the 25th anniversary of diplomatic normalization which falls on August 24.
"I believe we can solve any problem and we should do. Things depend on what attitude and method we take," he said, suggesting the two countries should maintain a favorable direction, consolidate political mutual trust, expand common interests and build up a consensus of public opinion.
"I assure you that we can quickly remove an obstacle to Sino-Korean relations and see a new and beautiful future if we look ahead, stick to the basics, and go forward hand in hand."
Qiu stressed that the two countries should respect each other's key interests and matters of mutual concern, develop sustainable friendship and cooperative relations, work together for peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, and make joint contributions actively to regional and global peace, stability and prosperity.
The dispute over a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery brought in by US troops to interdict North Korean missiles has sent ties between Beijing and Seoul to their lowest ebb since South Korea discarded Taiwan to embrace China on August 24, 1992.
In a forum held on the southern resort island of Jeju on Thursday, Qiu described THAAD as "the most difficult challenge" confronting Seoul and Beijing in 25 years.
South Korea's former ambassador to China, Kwon Byung-Hyun, said earlier that the two countries should get to the bottom of their heart for candid talks as they did 25 years ago. The THAAD dispute may have erupted because Seoul and Beijing put aside sensitive military issues in their clandestine deal in 1992, he said.
South Korea's public opinion was split when US troops brought in their missile shield last year. Now, many Koreans appear to recognize the THAAD battery as necessary for security after North Korea launched a second intercontinental ballistic missile.
The North's ICBM program has apparently aroused a tide of nationalist sentiment in South Korea, coupled with China's trade retaliation.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
