China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 19th that Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs and Chinese Foreign Minister, will visit South Korea and Indonesia.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that "at the invitation of South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono, Foreign Minister Wang will visit South Korea and Indonesia from the 19th to the 22nd."

During a regular press briefing on the same day, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said regarding Wang's visit to South Korea from the 19th to the 20th, "China and South Korea are close neighbors and cooperative partners." Lin added, "Over the 34 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China-South Korea relations have developed comprehensively and rapidly, bringing tangible benefits to the peoples of both countries and making positive contributions to promoting regional peace, stability, development, and prosperity."

"Late last year and early this year, President Xi Jinping and President Lee Jae-myung successfully realized mutual visits and reached important consensus, opening a new chapter in the development of China-South Korea relations," Lin noted, adding, "We believe that Foreign Minister Wang's visit will help implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust, deepen exchanges and cooperation, and jointly promote the continued development of the China-South Korea strategic cooperative partnership."

This marks Wang's first solo visit to South Korea in about five years since September 2021, and the South Korea-China foreign ministers' meeting will be held about 11 months after the previous one in Beijing last September.

According to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang is scheduled to arrive on the afternoon of the 19th to hold a foreign ministers' meeting and an official dinner with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, followed by a courtesy call on President Lee Jae-myung at the Blue House on the 20th.

Wi Sung-lac, Director of the National Security Office at the Blue House, is also scheduled to hold a meeting and luncheon with Wang.

As Wang's visit takes place while President Lee proposed multilateral discussions to end the war during his Liberation Day congratulatory address on the 15th, attention is focused on whether the two sides will exchange views on the matter.

Regarding the significant reduction in the duration and scale of the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercise, Ulchi Freedom Shield, under the direction of U.S. President Donald Trump, Spokesperson Lin repeated Beijing's previous stance that "safeguarding peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and promoting a political settlement of the Peninsula issue serve the common interests of all parties."

China has previously expressed discomfort, viewing South Korea-U.S. joint drills as a factor that escalates tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

(Photo: Yonhap News)