Gillard set to raise Korean missile crisis in Asia talks
By Mark Kenny Chief Political Correspondent
April 6, 2013, 8:47 p.m.
Julia Gillard plans to sidestep protocol to directly raise the security crisis on the Korean peninsula on Saturday in a speech to Asian leaders normally confined to resolving trade, commerce and financial differences in the region.The unusual move underscores the seriousness with which Australia and the West are viewing the tense stand-off between Kim Jong-un's secretive dictatorship in North Korea and the US and its allies.
Ms Gillard's decision to raise the escalating crisis directly in front of Chinese President Xi Jinping and others follows her phone conversation on Thursday night with South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
With threats and military posturing reaching dangerous levels, Ms Gillard will openly condemn North Korean aggression, sending a clear message to China that it has a pivotal role and prime responsibility to rein in its renegade client state.
She will also use her address to emphasise Australia's key priorities in terms of economic growth, ongoing trade liberalisation, greater financial transparency and more extensive people-to-people integration consistent with the main themes of the recent Australia in the Asian Century white paper.
But Fairfax Media understands she will not skirt the issue at the multination talks, by referring directly to what she will characterise as North Korean aggression.
In a clear signal to the host nation for the Boao talks, Ms Gillard will portray the actions and statements by North Korea as posing a serious risk to regional security and a material risk to continued growth and improving living standards.
As well as explicitly revealing an intention to use its rudimentary nuclear arsenal against its sworn enemy, South Korea, with whom it regards itself to be in a constant state of war, the erratic Kim Jong-un has moved at least one and possibly more intermediate missiles to its eastern coast in a show of brinkmanship against Seoul, Japan and US forces in both countries as well as in the northern Pacific.
In her talks with President Park, Ms Gillard stressed Australia's solidarity with the south and reinforced the importance Australia attached to South Korea's security and to Australia's strong bilateral partnership.
She also assured the President that Australia would continue to call on North Korea to end its provocative actions and engage South Korea in the "trust-building dialogue" which President Park had proposed.
Saturday's speech to Asian business and political leaders is likely to be among the very last Ms Gillard makes internationally before the election in September.
When not addressing the potential risks of war, Ms Gillard will push familiar Australian topics of economic growth, clean energy and the importance of developing human capital through improved and more integrated education services.
She also plans to tell leaders that all countries in the region have a deep interest in strategic stability – a pointed reference to China's potential to positively influence events on the Korean peninsula.
Arriving on Friday night on the southern Chinese resort island of Hainan, Ms Gillard revealed she would be raising the issue of North Korea's "provocative and belligerant" actions directly with President Xi Jinping when the pair meets for the first time officially on Sunday.
She played down fears being expresed in Seoul that there was a danger of the US and its allies over-reacting to North Korean bluster, causing the rogue nation's idiosyncratic leadership to lose face and thus making irrational military action more likely."I think the United States is showing restraint .. a very calm and purposeful approach, I think South Korea is showing remarkable restraint and I made that point to President Park when I spoke to her," she told reporters.
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Ms Gillard hwever conceded an ever present danger of "miscalculation" in such situations. "There is always the risk of miscaulation when tensions are inflamed, which is why it is very important that we all do everything we can to get North Korea to step back from these provocative and beligerant statements."
But in a sign of the deft diplomatic balance needed, Ms Gillard, who is increasingly at home on the international stage, said China had played its part to date and backed UN efforts to bring the DPRK back to a responsible position including the application of sanctions. "The aim here for everyone, including China with its degree of influence over North Korea is to put pressure on North Korea to cease the conduct that we've seen in recent days. She said again called on the leader Kim Jong-un, to accept the invitation to return to six-party talks, and to engage in "trust-building" actions with Seoul.
Asked about human rights in China, Ms Gillard praised its economicgrowth citing its record of lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty.
Human rights will feature in Ms Gillard's bilateral meeting with the Chinese President with Ms Gillard undertaking to raise Tibet following a disturbing rise in the number of nationals self-immolating in potest at Chinese occupation of the tiny nation.
