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Premier Li Qiang of China (left photo) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan (right photo) each shake hands with Yoon ahead of their summits at the presidential office in Seoul. (Yonhap)

During a summit on Sunday South Korea and China agreed to launch a bilateral diplomatic and security dialogue. The two sides also agreed to resume the second round of talks on a South Korea-China free trade agreement. Both sides seemed to seek better strategic communication to mitigate the deterioration of relations, which has been ongoing since President Yoon Suk-yeol took office in South Korea. 

Yoon also held separate summits with Premier Li Qiang of China and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the presidential office in Seoul on Sunday, the eve of the first trilateral South Korea-Japan-China summit in four and a half years. The last time the leaders of the three nations met for talks was back in December 2019, when they met in China’s Sichuan Province. 

According to Kim Tae-hyo, the first deputy director of Seoul’s National Security Office, Yoon told Li that South Korea and China “must continue bilateral dialogue, whatever the domestic and international circumstances may be.” Kim also reported that Li responded by expressing that he “hopes China can become good friends, good neighbors, and good companions with South Korea.” 

Yoon and Li agreed to establish a diplomatic security dialogue comprising a consultative body involving each side’s respective foreign and defense ministries. The first meeting is scheduled for mid-June.

The two leaders also agreed to bolster economic cooperation by resuming a bilateral investment cooperation committee that has been on hold for 13 years. They also agreed to resume the second phase of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations. The first phase took effect back in December 2015. To improve supply chains, they agreed to launch a dialogue on export controls involving the two countries’ trade ministries. 

While Seoul and Beijing formally agreed to improve bilateral communication, it remains to be seen whether they can reach agreements on contentious issues such as North Korea and Taiwan. Yoon mentioned North Korea’s military cooperation with Russia during his summit with Li and asked for China to “play the role of peacekeeper as a permanent member of the UN Security Council,” according to the presidential office. 

During his summit with the Japanese prime minister, Yoon reportedly was the one to bring up the issue over ownership of the Line messenger service. 

According to a high-level official in the presidential office, Yoon said that his administration “views this as a separate matter from diplomatic relations between South Korea and Japan.” Yoon reportedly emphasized that both sides “need to monitor the situation” so that the issue does not get in the way of bilateral ties. 

Kishida reportedly responded by saying, “Our Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications encourages Korean firms and other foreign companies to invest in Japan. We need to approach the issue from this unchanged position.”

“The ministry’s administrative guidance simply called for a review of [Line’s] security governance, as a major data breach was involved,” Kishida reportedly said. 

By Jang Na-rye, staff reporter

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