South Korea’s top diplomat to visit China ahead of much-awaited summit with Japan

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul will travel to Beijing to meet Chinese counterpart Wang Yi as North Korea and US rivalry challenge ties
His trip comes two weeks before Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo are expected to hold first three-way leaders’ summit since 2019

China-South Korea relations

Kawala Xie

Published: 7:42pm, 10 May 2024

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South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul will visit China next week ahead of a highly anticipated trilateral summit between Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo at the end of this month.

Cho will be in Beijing from May 13 to 14 for talks 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 soured over North Korea as well as Seoul’s ties with Washington. In August 2022, Wang met then South Korean foreign minister Park Jin in the eastern city of Qingdao.

Wang did not hold a courtesy call with his South Korean counterpart until nearly a month after Cho became Seoul’s new top diplomat in January. Some speculated the diplomatic gesture was delayed because of strained bilateral ties.

South Korea, China and Japan are expected to hold a leaders’ summit – their first since 2019 – from May 26 to 27 in Seoul. Final arrangements are being made for the event, the South Korean foreign ministry said last week.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are expected to attend the summit, though China has not yet confirmed its attendance.

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China’s relations with the two East Asian neighbours have largely deteriorated in recent years as Seoul and Tokyo move closer to Washington amid an intensifying China-US rivalry.

The summit at Camp David last year saw the US, South Korea and Japan agree to expand their economic and security ties with an eye towards China and North Korea’s growing military ambitions in the Asia-Pacific.

North Korea, a close partner of Beijing, has ramped up nuclear activities while fostering closer defence ties with Russia. Meanwhile, the US, South Korea and Japan have expanded joint military exercises in the region.

The announcement of Cho’s visit also came as Liu Xiaoming, China’s special envoy on Korean peninsula affairs, met his US and South Korean counterparts Jung Pak and Lee Jun-il for separate talks in Tokyo. During the meetings, they raised concerns about North Korea’s military activities and cooperation with Russia.

Seoul has long urged Beijing to use its influence on North Korea, which heavily relies on China for trade as it faces international sanctions.

Beijing has insisted on a “dual-suspension” approach to achieve denuclearisation, requiring North Korea to freeze its missile and nuclear programme while South Korea and the US must halt joint military exercises.