S.Korea may send envoy to China

By Li Jing

South Korea will send an envoy to China this week to seek Beijing's support in getting the UN Security Council (US) to censure North Korea for the sinking of the warship Cheonan, the Yonhap News Agency said Monday.

"We are considering sending Chung Yung-woo, a vice foreign minister, to China at the proper time," Seoul-based Yonhap quoted an official as saying on condition of anonymity.

Seoul is also considering sending a civilian-military probe team for a briefing at the US if there is a request from the council, the official added, according to Yonhap.

Called on by Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, South Korean lawmakers discussed future responses to the Cheonan incident, including how to win support against Pyongyang at the US, the official said.

However, he told the agency that nothing was decided regarding the two visits.

By press time, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not confirm the matter or make any comment.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said in Singapore on Saturday that there would not be a war between the two Koreas.

However, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was also in Singapore attending the Shangri-La Dialogue, said on the same day that Washington "will conduct combined military exercises with South Korea and support action in the US."

"At the same time, we are assessing additional options to hold North Korea accountable," the Voice of America quoted him as saying.

Regarding the Cheonan incident, China has urged the countries concerned to calmly handle the issue and exercise restraint before inspecting the evidence provided by Seoul.

Lü Chao, a researcher on Korean Studies at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that, if the South Korean envoy visits China soon, it is an opportunity for both sides to further exchange their respective positions on the sinking.