[Anchor]

Visiting South Korea, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi distanced himself from a North Korea-U.S. summit, stating that it is a matter for Pyongyang and Washington to decide. He added that China will play a constructive role for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Reporter Kim Hye-young has the details.

[Reporter]

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is visiting South Korea for the first time in 5 years.

Sitting down with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, he stated that China will play a constructive role for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

[Wang Yi / Chinese Foreign Minister: We hope that South and North Korea can gradually move toward a path of peaceful coexistence, and we sincerely wish for the lasting stability and development of the Korean Peninsula.]

As President Lee Jae-myung proposed inter-Korean "peaceful coexistence" in his Liberation Day congratulatory speech, Minister Wang also mentioned peace and coexistence between the two Koreas.

Minister Cho emphasized the "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" and urged China's cooperation.

[Cho Hyun / Minister of Foreign Affairs: (The South Korean government) will strive to achieve the denuclearization and peace of the Korean Peninsula. We expect to cooperate with China based on the shared interests of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula....]

Immediately after the meeting, Minister Wang did not avoid questions from reporters.

[Wang Yi / Chinese Foreign Minister: (On a North Korea-U.S. summit) That is a matter for North Korea and the United States to decide. In particular, the United States must change its long-standing hostile policy toward North Korea.]

When a reporter asked, "The Trump administration views the Lee Jae-myung government as a 'pro-China government.' How do you evaluate this view?", he answered as follows:

[Wang Yi / Chinese Foreign Minister: The Lee Jae-myung government is a government that defends South Korea's interests, and cooperating amicably with China serves South Korea's interests.]

Minister Wang evaluated that South Korea-China relations have entered a "track of improvement and development" since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration.

Minister Wang is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on President Lee Jae-myung at the Blue House today (the 20th) and hold meetings and a luncheon with Wi Sung-lac, Director of the National Security Office.

(Camera footage by Cho Choon-dong | Video editing by Park Choon-bae)