Minister Cho of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held her first diplomatic talks on the 17th with Wang Yi, director of the Chinese Communist Party Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office and foreign minister. According to Minister Cho, Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Korea in October is very likely to be finalized, and the matter of structures in the Yellow Sea is also said to be making progress.
At 9:30 p.m. local time that day, Minister Cho said this at a briefing with correspondents at the Korean Embassy in China. On why she chose to visit China even though, by diplomatic custom, it was Wang's turn to visit Korea, Minister Cho said, "In line with the Lee Jae-myung administration's principle of pragmatic diplomacy, we decided from the outset to hold a foreign ministers' meeting with China at the earliest possible date. Without arguing over which side visits, I came to consult as quickly as possible."
Minister Cho met with Director General Wang for 30 minutes longer than scheduled that day. In the roughly three-hour talks and dinner, Minister Cho discussed ▲ development of the strategic cooperative partnership ▲ peace on the Korean Peninsula and North Korea's denuclearization ▲ the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) ▲ the issue of installing structures in the Yellow Sea ▲ visits to Korea by President Xi and Director General Wang.
Minister Cho said President Xi's visit to Korea on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in October "felt certain." According to Minister Cho, Xi's attendance at APEC could pave the way for future bilateral visits, including a state visit.
Ahead of President Xi's visit to Korea, Director General Wang is expected to come to Korea in October for working-level consultations. Minister Cho said, "Korea and China need foreign ministers' meetings from time to time. In that regard, we said let's meet again in Korea at the earliest possible date," adding, "If he visits Korea, he will have multilayered meetings with officials including the national security office chief."
Regarding the recent anti-China protests in Korea, she said she did not hear any particular demands from the Chinese side, but the two agreed on the need to promote exchanges between the peoples of both countries. She said, "Because Korea is a democratic country, not only anti-China protests but also anti-U.S. protests occur, and such things cannot be controlled given Korea's system, but I explained that the Korean government has made careful efforts so that they do not go too far," adding that she received words of appreciation for this.
On China's installation of structures in the Yellow Sea, she said she "received a sincere answer" from Director General Wang. Minister Cho said, "Regarding this issue, Director General Wang said that working-level consultations have made some progress and are proceeding well, so we will keep a close watch and continue necessary consultations."
On North Korea's denuclearization, Minister Cho said, "We asked China to play a constructive role in easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, establishing peace, and denuclearization," adding, "But it did not lead to specific discussions. For that reason, we agreed to hold additional consultations going forward."
Minister Cho, who arrived in Beijing in the morning and met Director General Wang, is scheduled to return home early on the 18th.