Balancing act

The new North Korean regime and Myanmar were top of the agenda as senior US officials held talks with the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Wednesday.

The diplomatic mission, including Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, was the first to travel to the Asian heavyweight since the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il on December 17.

Campbell met with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai and was due to meet with other senior officials to discuss whether Kim's death would delay resuming talks on the North's nuclear disarmament and deliveries of US food aid.

"I think we both underscored how important it will be over the course of the coming months to maintain very close contact between Washington and Beijing," said Campbell after the meeting.

Washington and Pyongyang had been holding quiet negotiations and were nearing agreement on resuming US food aid when Kim died. That deal was seen as a precursor toward restarting the stalled disarmament talks.

Kim's death has also sparked concerns over regional security as power in the impoverished nuclear-armed country is handed over to his son, Kim Jong-Un.

"And I indicated that we would be closely monitoring the situation (in the Korean peninsula) and that we urged all parties to cautiously deal with the situation and to refrain from any provocations," Campbell said, according to a US embassy statement.

The Seoul-based Korea Economic Research Institute said Wednesday that the North's 1-million-strong military was still growing despite the country's economy teetering on the brink of collapse.

Also on the agenda in Beijing were discussions about the Obama administration's tentatively warming relations with Myanmar, a country which has relied heavily on Chinese trade, investment and diplomatic support in the past.

Cross-border tensions persist

The US mission was due to travel to regional ally South Korea following the China talks. There they were expected to focus on a joint counter-provocation plan to be signed later this month. The plan will help regulate intensified joint-military exercises between the two countries.

South Korea has watched wearily as Kim Jong-Un has assumed power in its northern neighbor.

"We believe there remains a possibility of provocations by the North during the power succession," Deputy Defense Minister Lim Kwan-Bin told reporters Wednesday.

Following Kim Jong-Il's fatal heart attack, there had been hopes of a regional détente. However, some analysts now say his untested heir may try bolster his credentials by staging a limited border incident.

Cross-border tensions have not been uncommon in recent years. In March 2010, the South accused the North of torpedoing one of its warships, resulting in the deaths of 46 sailors. Eight months later, Pyongyang shelled an island near the Yellow Sea border, killing four South Koreans.

The two Koreas have remained in a technical state of war since their 1950-53 conflict ended in a ceasefire. A peace treaty has never been agreed.

Campbell was also due to travel on to Japan before returning to Washington on Saturday.

Author: Darren Mara (AP, AFP)
Editor: Grahame Lucas