SK Pres. Park Talks About North Korea and THAAD at G-20 Summit
Among the main topics in a series of presidential summits of the world leaders in the past weekend included North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and the accompanying decision of the South Korean government to install a U.S. anti-missile system in the country.
On Sunday, the Blue House announced that President Park Geun Hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping will have bilateral talks on the sideline of the G-20 Summit in China. The meeting formally began on Sunday.
On Saturday, Park and Russian President Vladimir Putin both came to an agreement that they will not support North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons, Korea Joongang Daily writes. The two leaders also agreed to enhance communication in order to solve the issue.
In a joint press conference after the summit, Park once again explained and defended her decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in her country. She said that the North's evolving provocations of doing nuclear tests and a pre-emptive nuclear strike, while developing its nuclear weapons and capabilities, are a "matter of life or death" for South Koreans.
The President said, "Under these circumstances, a responsible government is forced to look for all necessary measures to protect the nation and lives of its people."
After the formal announcement of the South Korean government that it will deploy a THAAD system in the country, China and Russia have shown concerns that the system will be used to spy on them. South Korea and the United States have also repeatedly denied such claims and emphasized that the deployment is to prevent possible nuclear and missile attacks from the North.
In the same press conference, Putin also discussed the North's continuing nuclear arms development and mentioned that his country, together with South Korea, will not honor North Korea as a nuclear state.
An official of the Blue House said that the two leaders had a constructive discussion regarding the strategic stability of South Korea and Northeast Asia, including THAAD.