South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday he had urged Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help him curb Pyongyang’s nuclear programme. He suggested that a freeze in exchange for “compensation” was possible.
Lee is the first South Korean leader to visit the Chinese capital in six years.
On Monday, he met in Beijing with Xi. This meeting occurred a day after the nuclear-armed North fired two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan.
He spoke to journalists in Shanghai as he wrapped up the visit. He said he had urged Beijing’s help. His goal is to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table.
“I would like China to play a mediating role on issues related to the Korean Peninsula. This includes North Korea’s nuclear programme. All our channels are completely blocked,” he said he told Xi.
“We hope China can serve as a mediator — a mediator for peace,” he added.
The Chinese leader urged Seoul to show “patience” with Pyongyang. This is because ties between the two Koreas have become frayed, Lee added.
“And they’re right. For quite a long period, we carried out military actions that North Korea would have perceived as threatening,” Lee said.
The South Korean leader also laid out a plan whereby Pyongyang would freeze its nuclear programme in exchange for “compensation”.
“Just stopping at the current level would already be a gain,” he said. This means no additional production of nuclear weapons, no transfer of nuclear materials abroad, and no further development of ICBMs, which refers to Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles.
“In the long term, we must not give up the goal of a nuclear?free Korean Peninsula,” he added.
He said he had asked Beijing to convey this message to Pyongyang. He mentioned that “there was consensus on these points from the Chinese”.
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