FM Cho says he will have 'frank, in-depth' talks with Wang
Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul answers reporters' questions at Gimpo International Airport, in western Seoul, ahead of his departure for Beijing, where he is set to hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, May 13. Yonhap
Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said Monday he will have "frank and in-depth" talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, expecting the meeting will help create fresh momentum for the development of bilateral relations.
Cho made the remarks before he headed to Beijing to hold talks with Wang, as South Korea seeks to manage the bilateral relations with its Asian neighbor that have cooled amid its close alignment with the United States.
Cho's two-day visit marks the first trip to Beijing by a South Korean foreign minister in more than six years.
"I will take an important first step in creating new momentum in the development of South Korea-China relations," Cho told reporters at Gimpo International Airport, in western Seoul.
"I will have a frank and in-depth conversation with Director Wang Yi. We'll make our position clear on the issues of principle but focus on areas where we share the great potential for cooperation to lay a solid foundation for the development of bilateral ties," Cho said.
Cho will meet one-on-one with Wang late Monday. Wang will host a dinner banquet for Cho and his delegation following the talks, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Cho's office said the talks are expected to cover a wide range of issues, from bilateral ties and those related to the Korean Peninsula to regional and global issues.
South Korea has been looking to improve the ties with China, its largest trading partner and a key player in nuclear diplomacy with North Korea.
During the upcoming talks, the two sides are also expected to discuss a trilateral summit with Japan that is most likely to take place in Seoul at the end of May.
Asked whether he will raise the issue of China's forced repatriation of North Korean defectors to Wang at the talks, Cho said he will do so as it's an "important issue of concern" for the government and that he will "listen to the opinion of the Chinese side."
Seoul's top diplomat said he plans to discuss ways for the two countries to work together on North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, and call for Beijing's "constructive role" in addressing the growing military cooperation between the North and Russia.
On the possibility of Beijing taking an issue with Seoul being a potential partner in the AUKUS security partnership among the U.S., Britain and Australia, Cho said he will "deliver the government's position clearly."
While in Beijing, Cho will have a meeting with South Korean businesspeople working in China. He also plans to convene a conference of South Korean consuls general in China and discuss municipal-level exchanges.
Cho's trip to Beijing marks the first such visit to the Chinese capital by a South Korean foreign minister since November 2017, when then Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha paid a visit during the previous Moon Jae-in government.
The last bilateral talks between the two countries' top diplomats took place in August 2022, between Wang and then Foreign Minister Park Jin, in China's port city of Qingdao in the eastern Shandong Province. (Yonhap)