Diplomacy with China crucial in containing N.Korea

President-elect Park Geun-hye plans to send a delegation of special envoys to China among the four great powers surrounding the Korean Peninsula. This is her new attempt at diplomacy, considering that almost all of her predecessors sent special envoys to the U.S. first or to all four powers at the same time. In her election campaign, she pledged to develop bilateral ties with China to a strategic cooperation partnership given that 20 years had passed since the two neighbors established diplomatic relations. Five years ago, she visited Beijing as a special envoy for then President-elect Lee Myung-bak. Sending the delegation should be the starting point for solidifying cooperative ties with China`s new leadership led by Xi Jinping.

The Lee administration has maintained close ties with the U.S. but has been relatively less close to China. President Lee restored Seoul`s relationship with Washington that had soured under the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration, which tried to distance itself from Washington and Beijing. The Lee administration, however, came under fire for being diplomatically too biased toward the U.S. President-elect Park`s foreign policy should be based on the alliance with Washington but also seek to expand strategic cooperation with Beijing.

Though Seoul-Beijing ties have grown dramatically in economic cooperation and human exchanges, many obstacles remain between then in politics, diplomacy and military. Despite scientific evidence showing that North Korea carried out the 2010 sinking of the South Korean naval vessel Cheonan and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, China showed a lukewarm attitude toward the United Nations Security Council`s bid to adopt a resolution on putting sanctions against Pyongyang. Beijing has also remained silent on Seoul`s request to not forcefully repatriate North Korean escapees in China. South Korea and China should gradually build mutual trust, starting with workable projects such as ending illegal fishing by Chinese fishing boats in South Korean waters.

In a meeting with a U.S. delegation led by Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, who brought a personal letter from U.S. President Barack Obama, President-elect Park proposed upgrading bilateral ties to a "comprehensive strategic alliance" on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of bilateral ties. South Korea`s ties with Japan has fallen to its lowest point since President Lee`s visit to his country`s easternmost islets of Dokdo, which Japan claims to be its territory. Yet both nations should actively seek to form a new relationship once the Park administration is launched.

The U.S. pivot toward Asia, China`s naval strategy and Japan`s shift to the right are occurring around the Korean Peninsula. To overcome this unstable situation amid its geopolitical environment of being surrounded by the four powers, South Korea should focus on strengthening its "smart" diplomatic capabilities. Seeking a balance in diplomacy with the four powers is essential at least to prevent an armed provocation by Pyongyang aimed at testing Seoul`s diplomatic and security capabilities.