South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong speaks during a joint announcement with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, March 25, 2021. (AHN YOUNG-JOON / AP / POOL)
BEIJING/SEOUL – Chung Eui-yong, South Korea's foreign minister, will pay a visit to China from Friday to Saturday at the invitation of Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said Wednesday.
This meeting of the diplomatic ministers of Korea and China will serve as an opportunity to explore ways to develop bilateral relations between Korea and China and to exchange in-depth opinions on the Korean Peninsula, regional and international issues.
South Korea’s foreign ministry
It will be the first visit by a South Korean foreign minister to China for the first time in three years, as Seoul looks for ways to improve ties with Beijing.
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“This meeting of the diplomatic ministers of Korea and China will serve as an opportunity to explore ways to develop bilateral relations between Korea and China and to exchange in-depth opinions on the Korean Peninsula, regional and international issues,” South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
South Korea has been seeking to mend ties with China after a row broke out in 2016 over a US anti-missile system placed in South Korea resulted in a sharp slump in its tourism, cosmetics and entertainment industries, which had prospered thanks to Chinese demand. China is South Korea’s biggest trading partner.
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Relations have improved since then, and political leaders from both countries have visited, including most recently, a visit to South Korea by Wang in November. The last time a South Korean foreign minister visited China was in 2017.