SEOUL/BEIJING (Reuters) -South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged on Tuesday to work for substantive advances in economic ties and peace and security on the Korean peninsula, Lee’s office said. In their first phone call since Lee took office last week, the South Korean president told Xi he hoped the two […]
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South Korean President Lee, Xi pledge closer economic, security cooperation
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SEOUL/BEIJING (Reuters) -South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged on Tuesday to work for substantive advances in economic ties and peace and security on the Korean peninsula, Lee’s office said.
In their first phone call since Lee took office last week, the South Korean president told Xi he hoped the two countries would pursue a more active exchange and cooperation in the areas of economy, security and culture, his spokesperson said.
“President Lee requested China to play a constructive role for the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and peace and security,” Kang Yu-jung told a briefing.
“President Xi in response said the Chinese side would make efforts for the resolution of the issues … as they are matters of common interest to the two countries,” Kang said.
Lee took office on June 4 after winning the presidency in a snap election called after the ouster of Yoon Suk Yeol over a failed martial law attempt in December. Lee has since spoken to U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Chinese state media earlier said Xi told Lee that the two countries should respect each other’s core interests and major concerns, and ensure ties move forward “on the right track.”
A strategic cooperative partnership between both countries would bring more benefits to both and “inject more certainty into the chaotic regional and international situation,” Xi was quoted as saying by state broadcaster CCTV.
China is South Korea’s biggest trading partner and diplomatic relations between the two have improved since a 2017 spat over South Korea’s installation of a U.S. missile defence system that Beijing opposed.
While reiterating the importance of the U.S.-South Korea alliance, Lee has also expressed more conciliatory plans for ties with China and North Korea, singling out the importance of China as a major trading partner while indicating a reluctance to take a firm stance on security tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
(Reporting by Jack Kim, Ju-min Park in Seoul, Yukun Zhang and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Muralikumar Anantharaman and Raju Gopalakrishnan)