Moon tries K-Pop, TV to charm China

Beijing/Seoul: South Korean President Moon Jae-in was to unveil an array of TV talent and K-Pop celebrities at events, including a state dinner, in China on Thursday as he attempts to smooth out a year of difficult diplomacy with a star-laden charm offensive.

South Korean celebrities, including some of those accompanying Mr Moon, had been shut out of Chinese television and concert halls as relations cooled between the East Asian neighbours as they faced the threat posed by North Korea’s missile and nuclear programmes.

The thorniest issue was South Korea’s deployment of a US anti-missile system that China sees as a threat to its security.

Mr Moon is hoping to use his first visit to China since taking office in May to build support for a diplomatic solution to the North Korean crisis that has grown steadily through the year.

Pyongyang tested its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile on Nov. 29, which it said could put all of the United States within range, in defiance of international pressure and UN sanctions.

Meeting in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, Moon told Chinese President Xi Jinping he would be discussing North Korea with him.