Chinese FM Wang Yi set to arrive in Seoul for talks on N. Korea, bilateral issues
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, left, shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing, Sept. 17, 2025. Yonhap
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was set to arrive in South Korea on Wednesday, a trip that comes shortly after President Lee Jae Myung proposed multiparty talks to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War.
The top Chinese diplomat will begin his two-day visit with one-on-one talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun later in the day, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.
The meeting will cover a range of bilateral issues, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula, as well as regional and international issues, it said. The talks will be followed by a banquet.
"The talks are expected to serve as a chance to review the achievements made in fully restoring South Korea-China relations, and to begin preparations in earnest for the next steps and high-level exchanges ahead of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit slated for November in Shenzhen, China," ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said earlier.
On Thursday, Wang will pay a courtesy call on President Lee at Cheong Wa Dae, where the two will discuss the development of Seoul-Beijing relations and regional security, according to the presidential office.
National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac will hold a separate meeting and luncheon with Wang to discuss the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and other issues of mutual interest.
Wang's trip here comes after Lee proposed multiparty dialogue to discuss a formal end to the Korean War in his Liberation Day speech Saturday, in which he vowed to pursue peaceful coexistence with the North and seek ways to prevent conflicts. The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, leaving the divided Koreas technically at war to date.
The speech was widely seen as reinforcing his vision for improving inter-Korean relations that remain badly frayed and Seoul's efforts to serve as a "pacemaker" in helping resume dialogue between the North and the United States.
The North has remained largely unresponsive to Seoul's rapprochement since Lee took office in June 2025.
"As the president has laid out his vision for peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula, discussions are expected to take place on this matter," a foreign ministry official said of the upcoming Cho-Wang meeting, suggesting that proposed multiparty dialogue may also be on the agenda.
Other items likely on the agenda include expanding mutual cooperation and ties ahead of the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Seoul and Beijing next year.
Wang last visited Seoul in September 2021, while he and Cho last met in Beijing in September.