Wang urges nations in Korean Peninsula diplomacy orbit to reduce tensions
Seoul, Sep 15 (EFE).- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday that all countries involved in Korean Peninsula diplomacy should reduce their military activities to cut tension and promote dialogue.
After meeting with his South Korean counterpart Chung Eui-yong in Seoul, Wang spoke out about Pyongyang’s cruise missile test earlier this week.
The Chinese foreign minister said that all the countries should help foster “peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”
“Not only the North, but also other countries are engaging in military activities. Having said this, we all have to work together toward the resumption of dialogue,” he added, according to Yonhap news agency.
Seoul and Washington held their annual joint summer military exercises that angered Pyongyang a few weeks ago, and earlier this month Seoul tested its first submarine-launched ballistic missile and said it plans to develop stronger, longer-range and more precise ones.
Chung considered China an important partner in Seoul’s push to achieve peace on the peninsula through diplomatic channels.
Shortly after their appearance before the media, it was announced that North Korea launched two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan (called the East Sea in the two Koreas) on Wednesday.
After his lunch with Chung, Wang was scheduled to pay a courtesy visit to South Korean President Moon Jae-in before leaving Seoul.
Since United States President Joe Biden’s victory, Washington has tried to pull Seoul further into its security orbit to strengthen the common front against Beijing.
However, Moon’s government remains prudent and equidistant, knowing that China is South Korea’s largest trading partner and a key player in trying to achieve denuclearization of the peninsula.
On the other hand, South Korean public opinion is increasingly disenchanted with the Asian giant as a result of the pandemic and after it boycotted the South Korean economy in 2017 for the installation of a US missile interception system in its territory. EFE
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