The presidential office said on the 2nd that President Lee Jae-myung will pay a state visit to China as his first diplomatic schedule of the new year and discuss solutions to the "Yellow Sea structures" and the "Hallyu ban" (限韓令, Hallyu restriction order). China's official stance is that there is "no Hallyu ban" itself, but it has in effect imposed broad restrictions on Korea's culture and tourism industries. As our government said it expects to solidify the foundation for a "full restoration of Korea-China relations," attention is on whether there will be progress on sensitive pending issues.
Wi Sung-lac, deputy minister of the Office of National Security, presented four expected outcomes of this trip to China at a briefing at Cheong Wa Dae's Chunchugwan press center that day, including "stable management of sensitive issues between Korea and China." The deputy minister said, "In line with the full restoration of Korea-China relations, we will make the Yellow Sea a sea of peace and shared prosperity," adding, "We will also gradually and step by step restore cultural content exchanges between the two countries."
The large steel structures that China installed without authorization in the Yellow Sea Korea-China provisional measures zone (PMG) are a sensitive task for the Korea-China summit. Regarding this, the deputy minister said, "The issue of the Yellow Sea structures was discussed at the Korea-China summit held on the sidelines of the Gyeongju APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) meetings, and working-level consultations have since been conducted," adding, "We are seeking progress based on those consultations and will continue our efforts."
On the Hallyu ban, the deputy minister said, "China's official position is that there is no Hallyu ban itself," but added, "Because there is common ground on cultural exchanges, we aim to approach the issue by expanding the consensus that can be accepted." China imposed the Hallyu ban in 2016 after Korea's deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, and has since long restricted performances in China by figures from Korea's culture and arts circles.
On the cross-strait (兩岸, China and Taiwan) issue, the government said it will maintain the "one China" policy. The deputy minister said, "On the Taiwan issue, we have a consistent position and will respond accordingly," adding, "The Korean government respects 'one China.'" In the 1992 joint statement establishing diplomatic relations between Korea and China, Korea said, "The government of the Republic of Korea recognizes the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) as the sole legal government of China," and "respects the Chinese position that there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of China."
Korea's push to build nuclear-powered submarines is also an uncomfortable issue for China. Earlier, China said it "hopes that Korea and the United States will fulfill their nonproliferation obligations and work to promote regional peace and stability." While principled language, it signals wariness of such moves by the Korean government. Our government plans to persuade China on the grounds of "responding to security threats" arising from the expansion of nuclear weapons, including North Korea's nuclear submarines.
The deputy minister said, "North Korea's nuclear submarine capabilities need to be assessed further," but added, "In principle, since they have nuclear propulsion, they can remain submerged for long periods, are not easy to track, and we must assume they can launch nuclear weapons." He continued, "That alone becomes a new type of threat to us, so we also need to respond (including by building nuclear-powered submarines)."
President Lee will pay a state visit to China for four days from the 4th. According to Cheong Wa Dae, on the 5th in Beijing, Lee will hold a summit and attend a state banquet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The next day, after meeting the chair of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the equivalent of China's parliamentary speaker, he is scheduled to have a luncheon with Premier Li Qiang, China's economic control tower. On the 7th, he will attend the Korea-China venture and startup summit to meet young entrepreneurs from both countries in the content, medical and energy sectors.