Editor's Note:

China-South Korea relations have been improving rapidly after a few meetings between their top leaders. This positive trend is also part of the dramatic changing landscape of Northeast Asia. At the Second China-ROK Dialogue held by Peking University on Friday, scholars from both countries shared their ideas about the achievements made by both top leaderships and the challenges that are still troubling the region.

Yu Myung-hwan, former South Korean minister for foreign affairs and trade

Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to South Korea in July has produced multiple achievements, signaling that the bilateral relationship, which seeks more strategic cooperation, is on an irreversible track.

But we have to realize that most achievements are still limited to the range of economic cooperation, and we need to put more efforts into boosting mutual political trust and people-to-people exchanges, especially given that the South Korean government and people still hold concerns about China's North Korea policy.

Inter-Korean relations continue to be a crucial element impacting South Korea-China relations and regional stability. North Korea's nuclear issue and Korean unification are the two major issues haunting the region.

So far, talks between the two Koreas have barely made progress, because they don't put their focus of conversation on the same place.

The North cares more about economic issues, while the South has more security concerns.

Meanwhile, the North, which wants direct talks with the US about security issues, does not see the South as a qualified negotiator.

Korean reunification is not just a matter between the North and the South, it has to comply with the common interests of all stakeholders in this region. Thus, reunification is still a dream.

Cui Liru, former president of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations

The events in Northeast Asia prominently reflect the changes of the world landscape.

The spread of power gives medium-sized nations more opportunities to play significant roles in international relations.

Since the US and China are engaged in an unprecedented competition in the global sphere, other countries have to maintain a balance between the two.

Such a balance is especially hard to achieve, as Northeast Asia doesn't have a multilateral security framework.

But the need for such a framework is becoming increasingly necessary, as the US-led alliance-oriented framework is losing dominance.

The establishment of this framework could be a milestone in controlling risks and addressing security concerns in Northeast Asia.

It requires equality, cooperation and compromise. But it cannot be built out of thin air. The establishment of the framework and the resumption of the Six-Party Talks have to supplement this process.

So far, there is no better mechanism than the Six-Party Talks.

Jin Jingyi, deputy director of the North Korean Culture Research Center, Peking University

The simmering North Korean nuclear crisis is not an accidental event. It is the result of Northeastern Asian geopolitical development since the end of the 19th century.

The geopolitical conflict between North Korea and the US is the root cause of the North Korean nuclear crisis.

Although North Korea developing nuclear weapons can be a major threat to regional and even global security, it is the US that has more reasons to maintain the status quo of the peninsula, especially the split between the North and the South.

Once the nuclear crisis was peacefully resolved or the peninsula was reunited, Washington will lose its strategic pivot in this region, and its influence will be largely reduced or even driven away.

Pyongyang has to play an indispensable role in tackling the crisis, but it must be noted that the initiative has never been in the hands of North Korea. When the US is willing to let go, there can be real opportunities for the solution of the issue.
Although the stalled talks include six parties and China is regarded by some people as the key factor, in fact Beijing can play a very limited role in this regard.