By Kyu-seok Shim and Heejin Kim
SEOUL, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Seoul on Wednesday for talks with South Korean officials, media reported, after Seoul and Washington scaled back joint military drills with U.S. President Donald Trump saying he wanted to revive diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Wang kicked off talks with counterpart Cho Hyun soon after his arrival, the Yonhap News Agency reported, with the South Korean foreign minister telling Parliament earlier in the day that they would discuss Korean Peninsula issues, including recent developments surrounding the military exercises.
Trump said he ordered the changes to the military exercises because of his “very good relationship” with Kim, signalling willingness to meet the North Korean leader again.
China, North Korea’s only formal treaty ally, has not commented directly on Trump’s remarks, but Wang said in Seoul that Washington should change its “hostile policy” towards Pyongyang, South Korea’s Yonhap said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular news briefing, when asked about Trump’s intervention to cut short the U.S.-South Korean military drills: “Maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and promoting the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue is in the common interests of all parties.”
SOUTH KOREA PURSUING LEE-XI SUMMIT
On Thursday, Wang is scheduled to meet President Lee Jae Myung. He will also hold talks and a luncheon with National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, according to the presidential office.
Cho also told Parliament that the Foreign Ministry was pursuing a summit between Lee and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen later this year.
Lee has proposed multilateral talks involving parties to the 1950-53 Korean War on ways to establish a lasting peace on the peninsula and is expected to attend the APEC summit in Shenzhen in November.
China is South Korea’s “most important neighbouring country,” Wang Yi said in his opening remarks at the summit with Cho, adding Beijing would “make efforts that we rightfully should,” according to Yonhap.
“We also hope that South Korea and North Korea can gradually pursue opportunities for peace and coexistence, and we sincerely wish for lasting stability and development on the Korean Peninsula,” Wang said, Yonhap reported.
Cho said that he wishes that achievements from restoring relations between South Korea and China would contribute to the regional peace and stability, including the Korean Peninsula, Yonhap said.
(Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim in Seoul and Ethan Wang in BeijingEditing by Ed Davies and Saad Sayeed)
Comments