National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac shakes hands with Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party and foreign minister of China, ahead of their talks on Thursday. [Cheong Wa Dae]
National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac shakes hands with Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party and foreign minister of China, ahead of their talks on Thursday. [Cheong Wa Dae]

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac met Thursday with Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party and foreign minister of China, during Wang's official visit to South Korea. Wi outlined the government's efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea and its phased, pragmatic approach to denuclearization beginning with a "freeze."

Wang said China's Korean Peninsula policy "maintains continuity and stability" and pledged to play a constructive role.

Wi and Wang held talks and a working lunch, exchanging views on the direction of South Korea-China relations, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and regional and international issues of mutual concern, Cheong Wa Dae said.

"Both sides assessed the achievements in bilateral relations over the 34 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties," Cheong Wa Dae said. "They also reaffirmed the firm will of both governments to develop the South Korea-China relationship into a stable one that can produce tangible, people-centered outcomes that citizens of both countries can genuinely feel."

On Korean Peninsula issues, Wi introduced the blueprint for peaceful coexistence on the peninsula that the president had laid out in his Liberation Day address, Cheong Wa Dae said. Wi also asked for China's constructive cooperation in pursuing the policy toward North Korea.

Wang said China would "continue to play a constructive role for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula." The two sides agreed to maintain close communication on peninsula affairs going forward.

The two sides also exchanged views on the rapidly shifting regional and international landscape. Cheong Wa Dae said both sides "shared the view that, particularly at a time when countries in the region are more closely interlinked politically and economically than ever before, all nations need to make efforts to respect each other's positions, cooperate, and expand common ground."

Cheong Wa Dae said the meeting restored the dialogue channel between South Korea's national security adviser and China's director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, which had been suspended since December 2021 — a resumption after roughly five years. Both sides welcomed the resumption of high-level diplomatic and security dialogue and agreed to operate the channel on a regular basis, maintaining close communication across all levels of diplomatic and security channels, Cheong Wa Dae said.

Wang invited Wi to visit China, and Wi accepted, saying the two sides should "continue to consult on arrangements for a visit at a mutually convenient time."


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