Biden-Xi San Francisco summit confirmed; what impact will it have on Korean Peninsula?

11월 미중 정상회담 기정사실화 양자관계 회복에 한반도 정세 영향은? After China’s foreign minister recently made a rare visit to Washington the White House confirmed that U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are to meet on the sidelines of the APEC summit in San Francisco. If the summit does take place, it will be the first one since a meeting in Bali last November. But what would be discussed during the summit? And, if the U.S. and China get to reboot their ties how would this affect tensions on the Peninsula? For this we have invited Doctor Go Myong-hyun, a Senior Fellow from the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. Doctor Go, welcome. We also have Shreyas Reddy, Correspondent at NK News Seoul. Good to have you with us, Mister Reddy. (GO) Q1. Before we tap into the promise of a Biden-Xi summit, I would like to ask for some background information. The leaders met at a G20 summit last year in Bali. What was discussed there and how have bilateral ties between the two been? (SHREYAS) Q2. After months of diplomatic maneuvering to repair ties since the summit in Bali, Washington, and Beijing agreed in principle to hold the summit in San Francisco this month. Against what backdrop do you believe the two countries thought it was necessary to have a summit? (GO) Q3. I would like to ask about the several topics likely to be discussed. Among them will almost certainly be export controls as both the U.S. and China have been tightening export control on either technology or crucial raw materials. Can this economic tension be thawed? (GO) Q4. The Israel-Hamas war is another issue to tap into and the U.S. could urge Beijing to play a more conciliatory role due to its strong ties with Israel and the Arab states. How does each country’s view on the conflict differ and would China be willing to take on the role of mediator? (SHREYAS) Q5. Issues related to North Korea will also be on the list. Though China seemed to be distancing itself from strengthening ties with Russia and North Korea, some say Beijing having forcibly repatriated hundreds of North Korean defectors shows its willingness to cooperate with Pyongyang. Is that the case? (GO) Q6. If the Biden-Xi summit in San Francisco serves as a chance to reboot their ties, how would this affect the tension on the peninsula? (SHREYAS) Q7. Shifting gears a bit last Tuesday, a group of four individuals from North Korea arrived in South Korea through an eastern port city and expressed their intent to defect. This was the first time since November 2019 that a group of North Koreans defected on a vessel through the East Sea. Is this kind of defection rare? (GO) Q8. This incident raised questions over possible lapses in the South Korean military’s maritime surveillance, as it did not initially detect the boat crossing the Northern Limit Line. What is your view on this? (SHREYAS) Q9. According to government data, 139 North Koreans defected to the South in the first nine months of this year which is triple the figure from a year earlier. Why such an increase? (SHREYAS) Q10. The tally is a reminder that a steady stream of North Koreans continue to defect to South Korea and what is interesting is more women defect to the South than men. Is there a reason for that? (GO) Q11. The unification minister pointed out that the increase in the number of defectors shows the chronic food shortages North Korea is going through. It is not surprising but how serious is the situation? Unfortunately, that’s all the time we have for today’s edition. Thank you Doctor Go, and Shreyas for your time and insights. We appreciate it. #APEC #Summit #UnitedStates #China #JoeBiden #XiJinping #Korean_Peninsula #미국 #중국 #조바이든 #시진핑 #정상_회담 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2023-11-01, 18:30 (KST)