Wang, China's foreign minister, drew a line on mediating a U.S.-North Korea summit, reaffirming the existing position that the onus of resuming talks lies with the parties — the United States and North Korea.

The Director General said on the 19th that it was "a matter to be decided between North Korea and the United States," when asked by reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Seoul after talks with Minister Cho Hyun about the possibility of China mediating a U.S.-North Korea summit.

He added, "In particular, the United States should change its long-standing hostile policy toward North Korea."

Wang Yi, director of the Chinese Communist Party Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office and foreign minister, attends the South Korea–China foreign ministers' meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 19th./Courtesy of Joint Press Corps

On improving South Korea-China relations, he delivered an active message. He said, "Since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration, South Korea-China relations have entered a track of improvement and development," adding, "This accords with the interests of both countries and the wishes of the people."

He went on, "China is the largest market in the world today, and South Korea is right next to us," emphasizing, "Strengthening South Korea-China cooperation is also favorable to South Korea's development."

He also pushed back against currents within the U.S. Donald Trump administration that view the Lee Jae-myung administration as having a "pro-China" bent. The Director General said, "The Lee Jae-myung administration is a government that safeguards South Korea's interests," adding, "Working amicably with China also serves South Korea's national interest."

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