Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin met with Chinese Communist Party Politburo member and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the 26th and pointed out North Korea’s launch of a military reconnaissance satellite as “an act that completely violates UN Security Council resolutions and threatens national security.” Minister Park explained that the government responded by suspending some provisions of the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement as a “minimum defensive measure.”
In response, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official reported that Director Wang expressed concern about the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and expressed his intention that “China will play a helpful role in stabilizing the Korean Peninsula.” It is interpreted that he expressed concern over Korea’s partial suspension of the September 19 Agreement and argued that the parties must maintain cool-headedness and restraint.
Minister Park and Director Wang, who visited Busan to attend the Korea-China-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, had a two-hour meeting at the Signiel Busan Hotel in Haeundae-gu, Busan, starting at 10:40 a.m. on the 26th. At the meeting, Minister Park urged China to play a constructive role, saying that it is in the common interest of Korea and China for North Korea to stop further provocations and take the path of denuclearization. “China has always been a force in maintaining the stability of the situation in Northeast Asia, and will continue to play a constructive role in easing the situation on the Korean Peninsula,” said China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Director Wang said at the meeting that day, “Taiwan is part of Chinese territory, and the Taiwan issue is entirely an issue belonging to China’s internal affairs. It is reported that the Chinese government emphasized its position that “other countries cannot interfere.” Earlier, when President Yoon Seok-yeol visited the UK on the 22nd (local time) and expressed his opposition to attempts to change the status quo in Taiwan, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea along with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, China immediately protested.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Director Wang said regarding Korea-China relations, “We hope to add new meaning by excluding external interference and confirming our status as strategic cooperative partners,” adding, “If the relationship between the two countries is good, we benefit, and if not, we suffer losses.” . The argument is to exclude US intervention in Korea-China relations.
Minister Park urged cooperation so that North Korean defectors staying in China can go to their desired destinations rather than being forcibly repatriated to North Korea. Commissioner Wang is said to have maintained his existing position of appropriately handling the matter in accordance with domestic law, international law, and humanitarianism.
At the meeting on this day, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Korea was also discussed, but a specific time was not set.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.