Wang Yi's visit opens 'next phase' of ties, Seoul says, as both sides begin APEC preparations

The South Korean government said Wang Yi's first official visit to Seoul in five years marked an important step forward in the two countries' efforts to fully restore bilateral ties, building on the momentum established through reciprocal state visits between the two heads of state.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said at a briefing Thursday that Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Wang held a 90-minute foreign ministers' meeting at the ministry on Wednesday, followed by a two-hour dinner at the minister's official residence. The talks were conducted with simultaneous interpretation and covered a wide range of key issues, including bilateral relations and the Korean Peninsula.

The ministry highlighted the timing of Wang's visit. Wang chose South Korea as the first overseas destination of his second-half travel schedule after concluding the Beidaihe Conference, a key annual gathering of China's leadership, and arrived just ahead of the Aug. 24 anniversary of South Korea-China diplomatic normalization. The visit confirmed a shared understanding between the two sides to open the "next phase" of cooperation leading into the APEC summit in Shenzhen in November and the 35th anniversary of bilateral ties next year.

The two ministers agreed to begin full preparations for a summit on the sidelines of the Shenzhen APEC meeting in November. The plan is to use the leaders' meeting — the second of the year following January's — to take stock of progress in fully restoring the relationship and lay the groundwork for new development. To that end, both sides agreed to lead preparations on five concrete projects: marking the 35th anniversary of diplomatic normalization, developing horizontal economic cooperation, introducing giant pandas, restoring cultural and content exchanges, and revitalizing people-to-people exchanges.

Security and maritime issues also came up. The two ministers agreed to manage the Yellow Sea situation in a stable manner, while the South Korean side stressed the need to continue consultations on resolving the issue of structures in the Yellow Sea and urged China to crack down on illegal fishing. On the Korean Peninsula, both sides reaffirmed that peace and stability serve the common interests of both countries and agreed to strengthen strategic communication. The South Korean side introduced the president's "Korean Peninsula peaceful coexistence blueprint" from his Liberation Day address and asked China to play a constructive role in bringing North Korea back to dialogue as soon as possible.

On regional dynamics, the ministry said close communication between Seoul and Beijing had allowed it to sense that China shares the view that a South Korea-US-Japan versus North Korea-China-Russia alignment deepening would be undesirable, and both sides emphasized mutual respect and cooperation among Northeast Asian nations.

Meanwhile, Cho and Wang began Thursday morning with breakfast near Namsan, then walked along the Dasan Fortress Wall trail as part of a personal engagement program. A ministry official said the schedule was arranged to allow the two ministers to build friendship through personal conversation and shared interests.