Korea-China Video Summit Likely to Be Held Early Next Year... Reviewed at Tianjin Meeting (Comprehensive)

Senior Government Official: "South Korea-China Leaders Agree to Continue Communication via Non-Face-to-Face Talks"
D-Day for Declaration of End of War, 'Overinterpretation' Before Beijing Winter Olympics or March Presidential Election

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Cho Young-shin] A summit meeting between President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to take place soon. It is reported that such discussions occurred during the 'Tianjin Summit' held on the 2nd between Suh Hoon, Director of the Blue House National Security Office, and Yang Jiechi, member of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party.

Seo Hoon, Director of the National Security Office at the Blue House (left), and Yang Jiechi, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China in charge of foreign affairs, held talks on the 2nd in Tianjin, China. Photo by Tianjin Joint Press Corps

At the high-level Korea-China talks, both sides agreed to promote President Xi's visit to South Korea, but if the COVID-19 situation does not improve, they agreed to pursue a non-face-to-face summit such as a video conference.

A senior government official familiar with the Korea-China talks said on the 3rd, "Due to the COVID situation, it is realistically difficult for President Xi to leave Beijing, but even under these circumstances, communication between the leaders will continue," adding, "If necessary, the leaders can communicate anytime, whether by phone or other means, through non-face-to-face methods."

Regarding China's support for the declaration of the end of the war, the official said, "During the talks, we explained our process of proposing the declaration of the end of the war and the usefulness of discussions on resuming dialogue with North Korea. The Chinese side expressed sympathy and support for the declaration of the end of the war as it relates to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula." He further explained that China's support can be interpreted as a willingness to play a constructive role for peace on the Korean Peninsula. This implies that China may support North Korea's participation depending on the situation.

However, it is reported that no specific requests related to the declaration of the end of the war were made to the Chinese side during this summit. Only the purpose and process of the declaration were explained, and consensus was reached. Therefore, it is presumed that there have been no discussions between China and North Korea regarding the declaration of the end of the war yet.

When asked whether the D-day for the declaration of the end of the war could be set before the Beijing Winter Olympics or the presidential election, the official drew a line. He said, "We are steadily making efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea," adding, "We hope to reopen inter-Korean dialogue related to the Korean Peninsula issue and expect that the next government will approach the Korean Peninsula issue more smoothly in continuation of this." He refrained from further comment and dismissed the prospect of the declaration occurring before the Beijing Winter Olympics in February next year or the March presidential election as an overinterpretation.

Regarding President Moon's attendance at the Beijing Winter Olympics, the official said, "It does not seem to be the stage to discuss that issue with the Chinese side yet. It is too early," and added that he understands the Chinese side did not request the president's attendance at the Olympics during this summit.

He explained that a lot of discussion was held about goods imported from China, such as diesel exhaust fluid. The official said, "The diesel exhaust fluid incident caused much concern among the public," and added that they requested cooperation from the Chinese side to prevent the recurrence of the same problem.

Also, it is reported that our government emphasized the cultural content sector and sought cooperation from the Chinese side during this summit.

Director Suh said, "We conveyed our intention to cooperate so that exchanges in cultural content fields such as games, movies, broadcasting, and music between the two countries can be revitalized." He added, "Yang Jiechi also acknowledged the importance of cultural exchange and cooperation between Korea and China and said they are actively working on it," Director Suh reported.