South Korea’s President Lee asks China’s Xi to help restart North Korea talks

What Lee asked for

Lee said he wanted China’s support in resuming talks with the North, which has continued to expand its nuclear weapons programme and rejected Seoul’s proposals for engagement.

“I am very positive about the situation in which conditions for engagement with North Korea are being formed,” Lee said, referring to recent contacts between Beijing and Pyongyang.

“I also hope that South Korea and China will take advantage of these favourable conditions to strengthen strategic communication to resume dialogue with North Korea,” he added.

Lee, who took office in June after a snap election, has promised to strengthen ties with the United States while maintaining stable relations with China.

Why it matters

North Korea, which counts China as its main ally, dismissed Lee’s push for denuclearisation as a “pipe dream”. It said it would never talk to the South and has formally abandoned its goal of peaceful unification.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he would consider talks with the United States if Washington dropped its demand for denuclearisation. But he has not responded to US President Donald Trump’s recent offer to meet during his visit to South Korea.

Trump and Lee this week announced an agreement to lower US tariffs in return for new South Korean investments worth billions of dollars.

What China said

South Korean national security adviser Wi Sunglac said China had expressed its willingness to “cooperate for peace and stability” on the Korean peninsula, though the two leaders did not discuss China’s role in detail.

Both sides agreed that dialogue between the United States and North Korea remained crucial, Wi told reporters.

China’s official news agency Xinhua said Xi called for “mutual respect” and cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, biopharmaceuticals, green technology and ageing populations.

Xi said each country should “respect each other’s social systems and development paths” and handle differences “through friendly consultation.”

How ties are evolving

During the visit, the two countries signed seven agreements, including a currency swap between the won and yuan, and memorandums on tackling online crime and promoting innovation.

The summit also addressed political and trade issues. Wi said the two leaders discussed Chinese sanctions on South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, as well as restrictions on South Korean entertainment content imposed since the 2017 deployment of a US missile defence system.

Lee also raised the issue of structures placed by China in disputed waters, while South Korea’s defence minister met his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of a regional meeting to discuss Chinese military flights in South Korea’s air defence zone.

Meanwhile, protests against China took place in Seoul during Xi’s visit. Demonstrators carried signs saying “South Korea belongs to South Korea” and “China out.”

President Lee has said such anti-China rallies harm the country’s image and economy, and has ordered a crackdown on violent or discriminatory protests.