New leader of S. Korea moves to soothe area’s tensions

SEOUL, South Korea — The leaders of South Korea and China moved Thursday to mend ties that have been strained by the deployment a U.S. missile-defense systemin South Korea.

During a congratulatory call by President Xi Jinping of China to Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s newly minted president, Mr. Moon revealed his plans to send a delegation to Beijing to resolve the dispute over the system, which China views as a threat to its security, Mr. Moon’s office said.

Mr. Xi also asked Mr. Moon to visit Beijing.

Mr. Moon also spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday, with the two agreeing to cooperate closely on the North Korea issue.

The conversation between Mr. Moon and Mr. Xi was the

first in eight months between the heads of the two nations as relations suffered after Mr. Moon’s predecessor allowed the U.S. to install THAAD.

Mr. Moon, a liberal, had criticized the missile-defense system known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD. His conservative predecessor, Park Geun-hye, agreed to its deployment, saying it was needed to protect South Korea from a growing ballistic-missile threat from the North.

THAAD is one of the thorniest diplomatic issues the new South Korean leader faces. If he asks the United States to withdraw the defense system, which became operational last week, he risks rupturing South Korea’s close alliance with the United States and looking as if he is succumbing to Chinese pressure.

Analysts — including those who worked as policy advisers for Mr. Moon when he was a candidate — said Mr. Moon will try to persuade China that it should help rein in North Korea’s provocative behavior until both the South and the United States decide the system is no longer necessary.

In a call with President Donald Trump on Wednesday, Mr. Moon pledged to strengthen his country’s alliance with Washington, calling it “the foundation of our diplomacy and national security.”

The THAAD system has led to a deep schism in relations between Beijing and Seoul, and it has prompted widespread boycotts in China of popular South Korean brands. China is South Korea’s largest trading partner by far.

During his conversation with the Chinese leader, Mr. Moon also called for dialogue with the North, emphasizing that the goal of sanctions must be to bring the country back to the negotiating table. Mr. Xi agreed, according to Mr. Moon’s office.

North Korea appeared to make an overture of its own Thursday, suggesting in the state-run news media that the two Koreas expel foreign influence from the Korean Peninsula and work together for reunification.

Mr. Moon also held a 25minute phone conversation with Mr. Abe of Japan on Thursday. The two leaders agreed to hold a summit meeting soon, both sides said.

Mr. Moon pointed out that most South Koreans don’t accept an agreement Japan made with the Park administration in December 2015 to compensate women who were forced to work in military brothels during World War II. Still, Mr. Moon stressed that the matter shouldn’t remain a sticking point for the two nations to pursue “future-oriented relations.”

At the same time Thursday, tensions between the U.S.and North Korea continued. Dan Coats, the U.S. national intelligence director, said in a bleak appraisal to Congress that North Korea’s nuclear weapons program poses a potentially “existential” threat to the United States.

Elsewhere, multinational military drills on Guam designed to show support for the free passage of vessels in international waters amid concerns China may restrict access to the South China Sea were expected to get the attention of nearby North Korea. However, the drills were indefinitely postponed after a French landing craft ran aground Friday.