 |
|
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha attends a summit that took place between President Moon Jae-in and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the Sofitel Hotel in Manila, Philippines on Nov. 13. (Yonhap News)
|
Kang Kyung-wha’s trip will lay the groundwork for a scheduled Moon-Xi summit next month
Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha arrived in Beijing on Nov. 25 for her first visit to the country since taking office. Kang’s visit to coordinate a China visit next month by President Moon Jae-in signals a second round of summit diplomacy to normalize relations between Seoul and Beijing after the two sides resolved their conflict over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) issue. “Minister Kang Kyung-wha plans to visit Beijing for the first time since taking office on Nov. 21 and meet on Nov. 22 with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for South Korea-China foreign minister talks,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Nov. 20. The ministry also said the talks would include “discussions to prepare for our head of state’s China visit in December and review various related issues.” While Moon and Chinese President Xi Jinping made the thaw in relations official with their second summit in Da Nang on Nov. 11 (the first took place in July during the G-20 in Germany), analysts said the precise bearings would only be clear after the December summit. The ostensibly “solved” THAAD issue could flare up again in the meantime – a possibility Xi has left open with his remarks about “respecting each other’s key interests and grave concerns” and “policy decisions that can withstand the test of history.” The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not ruling out the possibility Beijing could demand a reiteration of Seoul’s “three no’s” policy ahead of Kang’s visit – affirming its commitment to not considering additional THAAD deployments, not participating in US-led missile defense, and not allowing trilateral security cooperation with the US and Japan to develop into a military alliance. The administration is reportedly not considering additional measures beyond discussions of the issues, after the backlash from conservatives when Kang originally stated the “three no’s” position on Oct. 31. This came a day ahead of the announcement that discussions were taking place between South Korea and China to repair bilateral relations Another major topic of discussion in Kang and Wang’s talks may be the outcome of a recent North Korea visit by Chinese Communist Party International Liaison Department head Song Tao, who arrived in Pyongyang on Nov. 17 as a special envoy for Xi and returned to Beijing on Nov.20. “We are anticipating in-depth discussions on the Korean Peninsula situation [during Kang and Wang’s talks], including plans for the two sides to cooperate on a peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
