Foreign Minister Park Jin responds to lawmakers’ questions during a parliamentary session at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Aug. 23, 2023. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea wants to build a “healthy and mature” relationship with China, its top diplomat said Thursday, amid concerns over cooling bilateral relations as Seoul has been pushing for closer ties with the United States and Japan.
Foreign Minister Park Jin made the remarks at a forum as the Yoon Suk Yeol government is seeking to improve relations with the Asian neighbor, with efforts under way by Seoul to resume the long-suspended annual three-way summit between South Korea, China and Japan in Seoul as early as later in the year.
“We’re carrying out confident and resolute diplomacy with China,” Park said at the forum organized by lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party in Seoul.
“We are seeking to make the relationship with China new, healthy and mature again … We plan to continue high-level exchanges and strategic communications in a stable manner,” Park said.
Critics say the relations with Beijing have recently cooled due to what they describe as Yoon’s attempts to bring South Korea closer to the United States and Japan, a departure from the previous Moon Jae-in administration’s greater emphasis on China.
Park mentioned the recent meeting between Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, the host for the Asian Games, as a demonstration of such efforts by Seoul.
Park said he expects to be able to meet his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, again. South Korea, China and Japan are in talks to hold a foreign ministers’ meeting in Busan next month before the trilateral summit takes place.
On Russia’s relations with North Korea, Park said he reiterated the warning against any military cooperation or arms deal between Moscow and Pyongyang when he met his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, during the meetings they had on the margins of multilateral gatherings in Indonesia and India.
“We clearly conveyed the message that it must not go against regional peace and stability,” Park said.
Park described the improvement of bilateral ties with Japan as “the biggest change” in South Korea’s diplomacy over the past year and five months.
“The two countries will build a forward-looking partnership based on the common value of free democracy, breaking away from the fetters and vicious cycle of the past,” Park said.
Bilateral relations with Tokyo have warmed significantly after South Korea decided in March to compensate Korean victims of Japan’s wartime forced labor from World War II on its own without asking for contributions from Japanese companies.
Seoul’s decision led to the summit between Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the agreement to resume “the shuttle diplomacy,” or regular visits by leaders.
(Yonhap)
