Seoul, Chinese FMs agree to boost ties
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, right, shakes hands with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at the Government Complex building in central Seoul, Wednesday. / Korea Times photo by Hong In-ki
Wang Yi to meet President Moon at Cheong Wa Dae
By Jhoo Dong-chan, Kim Yoo-chul
The foreign ministers of South Korea and China discussed ways to improve bilateral ties Wednesday, with Seoul asking Beijing for support in breaking the impasse in the denuclearization dialogue between North Korea and the United States, and bringing lasting peace to the Korean Peninsula.
Kang Kyung-wha held talks with Wang Yi at the foreign ministry's headquarters, in Seoul, from 4:00 p.m., but only a few specifics were made public.
“Through today's talks, we look forward to an in-depth exchange of views on ways to promote summit and high-level meetings, and economic, environmental, cultural and human exchanges, as well as ways for South Korea and China to cooperate for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of peace and regional and international security,” Kang said.
Yi showed concern about unilateralism destroying the current international order, and underlined the importance of constructive cooperation with Korea in upholding multilateralism.
Diplomatic sources here said Kang also likely requested a visit to Seoul by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the earliest possible date.
“The meeting was an opportunity for to the two countries to recommit to their ties following the deployment of the U.S. THAAD missile defense system,” said professor Kim Han-gwon from the Korean National Diplomatic Academy. “The talks could also include possible demands from Beijing related to the strategic rivalry it has with the U.S.”
Wang's visit here is the first by a high-ranking Chinese official since relations between China and South Korea deteriorated after Seoul's decision to allow the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system back in 2016.
At that time, South Korea insisted the system was mostly aimed at deterring military threats from North Korea, however, Beijing urged Seoul to reject the deployment claiming it would threaten China's national security. In apparent retaliation, China banned group tours to South Korea hitting the tourism industry here.
Observers expect Wang's visit could pave the way for the possible state visit by the Chinese leader, who last came to Seoul in 2014. Since the THAAD deployment, no high-level officials have visited the South despite President Moon Jae-in visiting Beijing in 2017.
Wang's visit also takes place three weeks ahead of a trilateral summit in Chengdu, China, where Chinese Prime Minister Li is expected to host President Moon and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
As a possible counter to the Washington-initiated Indo-Pacific Strategy, Beijing is stepping up its efforts to push forward on a free-trade deal with South Korea and Japan as trade friction between Beijing and Washington continues.
Wang will meet President Moon at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. It remains to be seen whether he will deliver a personal message from President Xi to Moon. Cheong Wa Dae declined to elaborate regarding the specifics of Wang's visit to the presidential office.
President Moon needs China's support to push his peace initiatives on the Korean Peninsula as Beijing is a long-time backer of Pyongyang with regard to its economy and politics. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited Beijing ahead of his historic summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi. Despite the failure there, China said its position on Pyongyang's nuclear disarmament hasn't changed and that the United States needs to deliver a clear promise of security guarantees for the North Korean regime.