Seoul, 10 May 2024 (WAI): South Korea’s Foreign Minister, Cho Tae-yul, will visit China from Monday to Tuesday next week at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. Cho will be in Beijing from May 13 to 14 for discussions with his Chinese Counterpart Wang Yi, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.
It will be the first China visit by a South Korean foreign minister in about two years as bilateral relations have deteriorated over North Korea and Seoul’s ties with Washington. In August 2022, Wang met the then-South Korean foreign minister Park Jin in the eastern city of Qingdao.
Wang did not hold a formal visit with his South Korean counterpart until nearly a month after Cho became Seoul’s newly appointed top diplomat in January. Some speculated the strained bilateral ties had delayed the diplomatic gesture.
South Korea, China, and Japan plan to hold a leaders’ summit, their first since 2019, from May 26 to 27 in Seoul. Last week, the South Korean Foreign Ministry announced that it is making final arrangements for the event.
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South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are expected to attend the summit, though China has not yet confirmed its attendance.
The announcement of Cho’s visit coincided with meetings in Tokyo between Liu Xiaoming, China’s envoy on Korean affairs, and his U.S. and South Korean Counterparts, Jung Pak and Lee Jun-il. During the meetings, they expressed concerns about North Korea’s military activities and cooperation with Russia.
Seoul has strongly advocated Beijing use its dominance on North Korea, which heavily depends on China for trade as it faces international sanctions.
Beijing has emphasized a “dual-suspension” approach to acquire denuclearization, requiring North Korea to freeze its missile and nuclear program. At the same time, South Korea and the U.S. must halt joint military exercises.
Atika Hassan is pursuing her MPhil in International Relations from University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. She loves to explore the fascinating world of international and domestic politics and can be reached out at [email protected]
