Overview
- President Lee Jae Myung disclosed after his China trip that he asked Xi Jinping to act as a mediator on Korean Peninsula issues, saying Chinese leaders responded by urging patience and indicating they would work to play that role.
- Lee proposed an initial freeze of North Korea’s programs with no additional nuclear weapon production, no transfer of nuclear materials abroad, and no further ICBM development in exchange for compensation as a pragmatic first step.
- Citing completely blocked channels and zero trust with Pyongyang, Lee framed the freeze as a way to halt further expansion before moving toward reductions and a long-term goal of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.
- Seoul and Beijing agreed to working-level consultations on cultural exchanges, with Xi instructing relevant agencies to discuss gradual, orderly steps, though no specific commitments on lifting China’s unofficial content curbs were announced.
- The two sides will hold talks to delimit maritime zones in the Yellow Sea after concerns over Chinese steel structures in overlapping waters, and Lee said he expects Beijing to remove part of the installations.