Washington — Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell is visiting China, South Korea and Japan for five days of talks with leaders on a broad range of issues, including the recent political changes in North Korea and Burma.
Speaking January 4 in Beijing, the first stop on his trip, Campbell told reporters he met with Chinese leaders for “very fruitful, broad discussions” covering a series of topics. He said the United States and China “share strong determination to maintain peace and stability” as North Korea undergoes political transition, adding that both Chinese and U.S. leaders will continue to monitor the situation there.
Washington’s relations with Burma have been warming since the country began to implement certain democratic reforms, including the release of some political prisoners and the easing of restrictions on the media, in late 2011.
Political change has also been under way in North Korea since the death of longtime leader Kim Jong Il on December 17. Kim’s son, Kim Jong Un, was named his father’s successor as supreme commander of the communist country’s powerful National Defense Commission by the government shortly after his father’s death.
Campbell is the most senior U.S. diplomat to visit Northeast Asia since Kim Jong Il’s death. He urged all parties in the region to “cautiously deal with the situation and to refrain from any provocations.”
The assistant secretary left Beijing January 4 to travel to Seoul, where he is scheduled to stay until January 6. He is then set to visit Tokyo before departing for Washington January 7, according to the State Department.
The department said in a statement that Campbell’s trip presents an “important opportunity to continue to build a cooperative partnership with China on shared global challenges,” “to continue our close consultation and coordination on the broad range of issues important” to the U.S.-South Korea alliance and to “reinforce our close cooperation with the government of Japan.”