A senior South Korean legislator on Tuesday proposed a ferry service between South Korea and China to promote exchanges and cooperation between young people of the two countries.

 

Park Geun-hye, former president of the Grand National Party (GNP), said she hoped South Korea and China could operate ferry services to improve travel between the two countries and increase exchanges.

 

"The distance between our two countries is just 300 nautical miles. If ferries carrying trains or cars operated, young Koreans could drive to Beijing to climb the Great Wall, and young Chinese could go to Seoul to see performances," said Park.

 

Park, 54, the daughter of former President Park Chung-hee, arrived in Beijing on Monday for a five-day visit at the invitation of the International Department of the Communist Party of China.

 

She attached great importance to exchanges and cooperation between young people, saying it was "the foundation and guarantee" for future relations.

 

"It will definitely promote mutual understanding and friendly ties," she said.

 

Park resigned in July from the GNP, the main South Korean opposition party, to prepare for the presidential election in 2007.

 

She spoke highly of state-to-state and party-to-party relations between South Korea and China. "Unprecedented achievements" had been made in the economic, security, cultural, science and technology fields in the past 14 years, said Park.

 

"If we win the presidential election, we will continue the friendly policy towards China and intensify bilateral cooperation," she said.

 

Park called for a united voice and closer cooperation between South Korea and China on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

 

She appreciated China's constructive role in Korean Peninsula affairs. China had made "great efforts" to push forward nuclear talks, said Park.

 

China's role was even more important at the current stage, she said, adding she believed China could exert a positive influence on the issue.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 29, 2006)