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15h ago

Seoul, Beijing Hold First High-Level Talks Under Lee as Cho Signals Expectation of Xi at APEC

Seoul is using the meetings to seek Beijing's help on North Korea.

South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun attends a meeting with Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (not pictured) at Foreign Ministry in Tokyo, Japan July 29, 2025. REUTERS/Issei Kato/Pool/File Photo
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends a news conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on Sept. 13, 2025, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (Yonhap)
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun speaks to the press upon arriving at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, after returning from Washington on a trip to negotiate the release of South Korean workers in a U.S. immigration detention center in Georgia, in this photo taken Sept. 12, 2025. (Yonhap)
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun speaks to reporters at Gimpo International Airport, in western Seoul, before heading to Beijing for talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on Sept. 17, 2025. (Yonhap)

Overview

  • Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing for one-on-one talks followed by a working dinner, the first such engagement since President Lee Jae Myung took office.
  • Cho said he understands Xi Jinping is going to visit South Korea for the Oct. 31–Nov. 1 APEC summit, though Beijing has not issued a formal confirmation.
  • The agenda includes securing Chinese support for denuclearization and inter-Korean dialogue and exchanging assessments following Kim Jong-un’s recent appearance in Beijing.
  • Seoul plans to raise practical frictions such as China's steel structures in the Yellow Sea and discuss economic and supply-chain cooperation.
  • A state-run Global Times editorial suggested Xi’s visit is likely and argued that stabilizing ties could benefit Seoul, as observers point to APEC as a platform for high-level engagements.