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bilateral issues.
They had reached agreement in many areas;
in fact there were no problems in Sino-North Korean relations. Consequently there was not much to say about Zhao's visit.
12.
Mr Atkins remarked that one difficulty in the task
of reunification was the question of what the people of Korea
actually wanted. It seemed that there was, at the moment,
no basis for reunification, and it was likely that there would
be two Koreas for some time yet. He asked whether the Chinese
would be going to South Korea for the Olympics in 1988 - but
did not press this question. Mr Atkins then asked whether the
Chinese had detected signs of Soviet influence in North Korea.
Mr Zhang replied that there was no doubt that Korea would be
reunified in the future, though this might take time. The
North Koreans had diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union,
and various ties, such as trade and economic. Seen from this
angle, there was Soviet influence in North Korea. But under
President Kim's leadership North Korea pursued a policy of
'self-reliance, self-sustenance and self-defence'. They
pursued an independent policy and made their own decisions;
they would not follow others blindly.
13.
Mr Atkins remarked that, since no change seemed likely
for some time, the British view was that both North and South
Korea should become members of the UN together. It was of
course possible for two separate countries to unite if they
wished to do so. Senegal and Gambia had decided very recently
to do just this. Mr Zhang replied that this was a problem for
the Korean people to decide. China respected the views of the
DPRK.
Sino-Indian Relations
14.
In response to a question from Mr Atkins Mr Zhang
said that Sino-Indian relations were now better than they had
been. Official talks had been held in December. The atmosphere
had been friendly and the attitude of the two sides had been
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/positive,