Moon’s special envoy arrives in China for talks on summit, N. Korea

SEOUL/BEIJING, May 18 (Yonhap) — A special envoy of South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in China on Thursday for discussions on a summit between the countries’ heads of state and ways to contain North Korea.

Also high on the agenda for the special envoy, Lee Hae-chan, was a prolonged row between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of the U.S. missile defense system THAAD in South Korea, officials from Seoul’s presidential office Cheong Wa Dae noted.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s special envoy, Lee Hae-chan (L), shakes hands with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi before having a meeting at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing on May 18, 2017. (Joint Press Corps)

Lee first met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi after his arrival in the Chinese capital, and they shared their opinions.

“President Moon told me to have enough conversation and exchanges in this visit so that South Korea and China can build a comprehensive cooperative partnership,” he said to Wang, whom he has known since 2013. “President Moon will have conversations with China in future summits, but he said it’s very important to have an honest talk with sincerity.”

Wang said China hopes Moon’s administration will get their relationship back on a good track following South Korea’s decision last year to deploy the THAAD on its soil.

“This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between South Korea and China, and we need to respect the things that we have achieved,” he said. “But from last year, the South Korea-China relationship suffered a setback which should not have happened, and this is an unwanted situation.”

Wang added China hopes South Korea’s new government will “correct the problems” and take measures as soon as possible.

“We hope South Korea’s new government realizes the problems that we have encountered and take effective measures to remove the obstacles so that the relationship between the two countries can be on a good developmental track as soon as possible. This is the desire of our two peoples and it’s also the responsibility of our governments.”

South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s special envoy, Lee Hae-chan (R), talks to Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Qiu Guohong, in Beijing on May 18, 2017, after landing at Beijing Capital International Airport earlier. (Yonhap-Joint Press Corps)

Before leaving for Beijing, Lee told reporters that summit talks between Moon and Chinese President Xi Jinping could take place on the sidelines of a Group of 20 meeting to be held in Germany in July and then again in time for Aug. 24 when both countries mark the 25th anniversary of building diplomatic ties.

“I will deliver such opinions (to the Chinese side),” he said.

Lee added that his trip to Beijing will place much emphasis on improving the frayed bilateral relations in such areas as personnel, the economy and tourism, which have taken the brunt of China’s retaliatory measures against the THAAD installation on its soil.

“With regard to the THAAD issue, I will do my best to sufficiently explain President Moon’s stance (to the Chinese side),” Lee noted.

The former South Korean prime minister was expected to meet with ranking Chinese officials, possibly including Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The special envoy’s trip comes after Xi’s invitation for Moon to visit Beijing during their telephone conversation last week.

During the long 40-minute call made by Xi, the Chinese leader explained reasons for Beijing’s opposition against the THAAD deployment in South Korea, Cheong Wa Dae officials said earlier.

Moon said he understood China’s position but noted many South Korean people and businesses in China were suffering from China’s apparent economic retaliation against the deployment, asking Xi to personally look into ways to resolve the issue.

Apparently highlighting the importance he places on Seoul-Beijing ties, Xi earlier met with a South Korean delegation to an international forum held in Beijing.

Park Byeong-seug, a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Party and head of the South Korean delegation, later noted the phone conversation between Moon and Xi appeared to have “triggered a mutual consensus on repairing South Korea-China relations.”

The special envoy Lee’s discussions were also expected to include ways to deal with increasingly provocative North Korea as his trip also follows the North’s launch of an intermediate range ballistic missile that has prompted fresh condemnation from the U.N. Security Council in a statement backed by all Security Council members, including China.

President Moon has said he will utilize all available means, including dialogue, to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons, but that talks were possible only under the right conditions.

Lee is the third special envoy of the new South Korean leader to visit a foreign state. Moon and his special envoys have said their job was to relay Moon’s personal message to his foreign counterparts, and letting them know what he planned to do with his country and North Korea.

President Moon Jae-in (L) shakes hands with his special envoy to China, Lee Hae-chan, at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on May 16, 2017, after handing over his personal letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae) (Yonhap)

Later in the day, a special envoy for the European Union and Germany embarked on his trip, which is expected to focus on sharing the president’s willingness to consolidate ties with European countries.

A special envoy to Russia is expected to head to Moscow next week. Moon has also named a special envoy to the Vatican.

bdk@yna.co.kr

kokobj@yna.co.kr

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2 Comments

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