Amid comprehensive cooperation between North Korea and Russia, South Korea and China held their 10th strategic dialogue for foreign ministers in Seoul on the 24th. Kim Hong-gyun, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ma Jiaoshi, Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs of China, met in the afternoon at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul to discuss bilateral relations, the Korean Peninsula, and international situations. Officials from both countries responsible for foreign affairs from the United States also attended the meeting.
The Korea-China strategic dialogue for foreign ministers took place after about 2 years and 7 months since the virtual meeting in December 2021. This meeting was held following an agreement between President Yoon Suk-yeol and Chinese Premier Li Changbing during the trilateral summit with Japan in May to actively resume communication channels in the diplomatic and security fields between the two countries. It was reported that China proposed the meeting first.
After the meeting in the afternoon, the two sides also had dinner together and continued their discussions for a long time. While Russia and North Korea have recently signed a treaty akin to a military alliance and strengthen comprehensive cooperation, China, which is maintaining a distance from such actions, shows its willingness to continue strategic cooperation with South Korea while managing relations.
As a result, there have been successive dialogues between South Korea and China in various ways recently. Earlier on the 18th of last month, a Korea-China foreign affairs security dialogue was held in Seoul, with Deputy Minister Kim Hong-gyun and Deputy Director Suen Weidong leading the talks. The foreign affairs security dialogue is a ‘2+2’ dialogue consultation body involving the ministries of foreign affairs and defense of both countries.
Prior to his visit to South Korea, Deputy Director Ma Jiaoshi visited Tokyo on the 22nd, where he held the 16th Sino-Japanese strategic dialogue with Masataka Okano, Secretary-General of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and also met with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshiko Kamegawa.
By Minhee Park Senior Writer minggu@hani.co.kr