Environmental Cooperation

[Anchor Lead]

Prime minister of South Korea and China held discussions on how to address the worsening fine dust problem in South Korea on March 27. The two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation between the two countries to resolve the issue. However, they still showed differences on details.

[Pkg]

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon held a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang on March 27. The two agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the economy and environment sectors.

[Soundbite] Lee Nak-yon(South Korean Prime Minister) : "I hope the two countries will work together to resolve newly emerging issues through greater exchanges and cooperation."

[Soundbite] Li Keqiang(Chinese Premier) : "China will work to upgrade bilateral cooperation with South Korea to a new level and to promote peace, development and prosperity of the world."

Fine dust was also another major issue on the meeting's agenda. Seoul's prime minister proposed detailed measures to tackle the worsening air pollution in South Korea. They include conducting a joint study on the causes of the pollutants, issuing early warnings against highly concentrated fine dust and collaborating in taking emergency steps to reduce the particulate matter. He also called for efforts to accelerate the implementation of a Seoul-Beijing agreement on reducing fine dust, which was reached between the two countries' environment ministers last month. The Chinese premier expressed support for strengthening cooperation in tackling the fine dust problem. However, he was ambiguous about presenting detailed solutions. The only proposal he made was to jointly develop technologies or products designed to reduce fine dust. At the meeting, the two sides discussed ways to jointly address the issue via former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who now heads a South Korean government organization dedicated to the fine dust issue. China's active cooperation is crucial for the South Korean government's anti-fine dust measures to produce substantial results.