As US Secretary of Defense James Mattis stops in Seoul on his East Asia tour to talk with Republic of Korea (ROK) Defense Minister Song Young-moo, officials from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the ROK are simultaneously meeting to discuss mutual rail connections between the two Koreas. So, is there anything behind this confluence of meetings? How is the ROK reacting to the freeze of US military exercises? And what should be the next action by the DPRK to encourage further diplomacy from the US?
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All Quiet On The Korean Peninsula?
Transcript
Well I would say that the visit by the secretary of defense from the United States is important but the important juncture and the president has cinching King personally met with him and had loan long talks with him. That shows that China attaches great importance not only to that visit but be kinder to the general U.S. China relations and you know doing the talking can see that you can talk about just the general direction that is he need the cooperation they could run a a cooperative relation to the two largest economies. Not only is good for the two countries but for the region in a sense to the world. But during the meeting conference that Janicki also calls a spade a spade say that for instance of national defense territorial integrity and we do not need a single inch of the territory from any foreign country. However for territories handed down from our streets and that we are bound to keep it. What do you make of that the agenda Secretary Johnson is a promise to China. Is this just the whole package tour used to be the case that U.S. President the U.S. Secretary of Defense to visit your allies in northeast Asia that China has become the first. Maybe we're reading too much into it and I don't like to have your thoughts. I think you know there's great importance right now to continue strategic cooperation and to sort of reiterate those ties.
And given the situation with North Korea I think you know China U.S. cooperation and continued cooperation on this matter even as the Yacine relations improve especially as China relations starts to improve and have having communication and cooperation and it will be incredibly important going forward to make sure that we're all sort of moving in the right direction in the same direction and that we're not undermining each other's efforts in that process. I think it makes a lot of sense to come to China first especially given the rising tensions between the U.S. and China to see it you know to make sure that we have still some ties that we can still figure out ways to work together on these issues especially the military aspects even if there's problems in some of the more economic aspects. I wonder you have followed my smoothie and reading between the lines of the official statement. Forget about the Dougan official statement that the diplomatic rhetoric. Anything below underlying I mean what is the understatement of the messages that secretary that really wants to deliver to the Chinese side. Well I think it's very modest. One of the messages is related to the fact that the U.S. is continuing to focus on the status quo and that includes free of navigation operations but it also means that the U.S. and China need communication on strategic issues including the Korean peninsula.
And I'm sure that the fact that he came here at this particular time provides a note of assurance in the context of a lot of unpredictable issues even at the height of the Cold War some kind of a nexus of channels for the communication between Washington and Moscow who intend to manage the crisis today many people are talking about a new Cold War descending on East Asia and China due to a lot of things mistrust territorial disputes the freedom of navigation on the whole particularly the trade war that has really undermined the most consequential bilateral relationship in the world. How important is the mil to mil talks. Do you think this is a positive move or just symbolic one. Don't take it very seriously. I'm told The New Cold War is to break down. Well that's an excellent question but it's a very difficult to watch. Well you say that this is a there was a so-called the coming of the Cold War. I personally I would say that we need to wait a moment before we reach that kind of conclusion. So when you look back to the Cold War the coming of the Cold War years in 1947 Truman Doctrine a Marshall Plan and saw and there was the X Mr. X long telegram saying that the Soviet Union is totally.
