By Alex Jensen
SEOUL (AA) – China’s chief nuclear envoy landed in South Korea on Monday as Seoul confirmed the United States was sending a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and warships to the peninsula.
Wu Dawei’s visit — set to last up to five days — comes at a time of heightened inter-Korean tensions, with expectations running high that North Korea could soon conduct a sixth nuclear test.
On day one, Wu agreed with South Korean counterpart Kim Hong-kyun that their countries would take strong action if the North carries out another major provocation, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Any sign of Seoul-Beijing cooperation will be seen as positive after months-long bilateral friction over the stationing of an American missile system, THAAD, in South Korea.
Despite the deployment of even more U.S. military hardware, Seoul’s Unification Ministry played down a pre-emptive strike among Washington’s reported options.
“There’s no need to be worried much,” ministry spokesperson Lee Duck-hang said at a Monday briefing.
“The U.S. has said it supports South Korea’s policy on North Korea, and our government intends to solve all the problems peacefully,” Lee added.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying also called on all parties to “exercise restraint and refrain from doing anything that will aggravate the situation in the region”.
