Chronologies
China - Korea
Chronology from Jan 2009 to Mar 2009
: Seoul’s Sejong Center for the Performing Arts stages China’s “Butterflies” in the first major exchange of plays since the establishment of cultural ties in 1992.
: PLA Chief of Staff Chen Bingde meets ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Kim Tae-Young and tours military bases in South Korea.
: Ssangyong union workers announce plans to sue SAIC for mismanagement, seeking compensation for damages and cancellation of SAIC’s 51 percent stake.
: High-level officials from China, Russia, South Korea, and Mongolia attend the 10th Consultative Commission Meeting of the Greater Tumen Initiative in Ulaanbaatar to further regional cooperation on Tumen development.
: ROK nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac meets Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei in Beijing to discuss Pyongyang’s planned satellite launch and stalled Six-Party Talks.
: Pyongyang declares it will launch a satellite between April 4 and 8.
: A Bank of Korea official announces the central bank is in talks with its Chinese counterpart to convert part of a 38 trillion won ($27.2 billion) currency deal into dollars.
: The Ministry of Knowledge and Economy says it will expand export insurance for shipments to China to 20 trillion won ($14 billion), a 30 percent increase from 2008.
: DPRK Premier Kim Yong-il makes a five-day visit to China where he tours Shandong Province and meets senior officials in Beijing including Premier Wen Jiabao, NPC Standing Committee Chairman Wu Banguo, and President Hu Jintao.
: North Korean officials arrest two U.S. journalists on the Sino-North Korean border for “illegally intruding” into DPRK territory.
: The Ministry of Knowledge Economy reports that Hong Kong has replaced China as South Korea’s largest overseas market in terms of trade surplus ($2 billion).
: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi at China’s annual parliamentary session calls for enhanced China-Japan-ROK cooperation on the financial crisis and says FTA negotiations with ROK should begin as early as possible.
: Ssangyong says sales dropped 69.4 percent in February, with domestic sales plunging 51.5 percent and exports 82.7 percent.
: Air purifier sales in South Korea jump in sales with forecasts of especially severe “yellow dust” from China this spring.
: DPRK state media reports that China has repeated its invitation to Kim Jong-il to visit Beijing for a summit with President Hu Jintao.
: Pyongyang announces it is preparing to launch a communications satellite.
: ROK agriculture officials report that South Korea imported a record $112.7 million worth of kimchi in 2008, mostly accounted for by Chinese imports that reached 13.5 percent of local consumption.
: ROK Minister of Strategy and Finance Yoon Jeung-hyun and Chinese counterpart Xie Xueren meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN Plus 3 special meeting of finance ministers. ASEAN Plus 3 finance chiefs agree to expand their regional currency swap fund from $80 billion to $120 billion to cope with the financial crisis.
: Ssangyong says it will downsize business operations and cut executive wages by up to 54 percent in a bid to meet procedures for court receivership.
: Chinese nuclear envoy Wu Dawei visits Pyongyang to express concern over activity at North Korea’s primary missile launching facility.
: Ssangyong announces plans to revamp its assembly lines.
: A local supplier for Ssangyong collapses due to the automaker’s deteriorating financial situation, putting at risk 200 more vendors.
: Ssangyong wins court approval for bankruptcy protection.
: DPRK media says China has decided to give “free aid” to North Korea.
: ROK Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan meets senior officials in Beijing including Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi and Premier Wen Jiabao.
: Ssangyong reveals that its auto sales dropped 82 percent in January.
: Hyundai and Kia report a record number of car sales in China in January.
: President Obama calls President Hu to reaffirm his pledge to denuclearize North Korea through Six-Party Talks.
: The ROK government says it will ban imports of dried persimmon from China after the discovery of a harmful parasite in the product.
: The ROK government announces it will discontinue support for parts suppliers of Ssangyong in face of worsening economic conditions.
: Chinese party official Wang Jiarui visits Pyongyang and meets high-level DPRK officials. He delivers a letter to Kim Jong-il from President Hu Jintao on the occasion of Lunar New Year.
: Chinese petrochemical makers accuse South Korean firms of dumping.
: ROK Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs announces that South Korea and China have agreed to shuttle flights linking Seoul’s Gimpo Airport and Beijing’s Capital International Airport.
: North Korea holds a New Year reception for Chinese diplomats in Pyongyang.
: About 150 direct suppliers to Ssangyong plead with creditors and the ROK government to provide financial assistance.
: Chinese Foreign Ministry hosts gatherings with North Korean diplomats in Beijing.
: Family members urge Seoul to press Beijing for the release of South Korean abductee who escaped North Korea in May 2008 after three decades in captivity.
: Ssangyong suspends production at its sole plant in Pyeongtaek.
: The Seoul Central District Court grants receivership to Ssangyong. Union workers say they are prepared to negotiate a turnaround plan.
: The North Korean consulate general in Shenyang opens its branch office in Dandong city bordering North Korea.
: A Chinese Foreign Ministry delegation visits Pyongyang for 60th anniversary celebrations of China-DPRK diplomatic relations.
: Ssangyong Motor Co. files for court protection from creditors. The board reconvenes in Shanghai to finalize restructuring plans.
: China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue visits Pyongyang to discuss 60th anniversary-related exchanges.
: The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention heightens bird flu warnings after a teenager in Beijing is suspected of dying from the virus on Jan. 6.
: SAIC injects $45 million into Ssangyong and resumes negotiations with Korea Development Bank over a possible restructuring plan.
: ROK Unification Ministry says the current slowdown in North Korean defectors to South Korea is partly due to tightened border controls in China.
: ROK Ministry of Strategy and Finance says South Korea will implement anti-dumping duties on Chinese and Taiwanese polyester yarn for the next three years.