“We are optimistic that North Korea and the United States will resume dialogue in a timely manner,” said Wang Yi, Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councilor, during a meeting with Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on the 29th (local time). However, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea said in a press release that “the two ministers exchanged views on the declaration of an end to the Korean War,” the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not make such a statement. It seems that the frostbite between the parties is continuing over the declaration of an end to the war and the resumption of dialogue.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the two ministers met on the occasion of the G20 summit in Rome, Italy, and held talks for 30 minutes. “The two Ministers exchanged frank and in-depth opinions on ways to cooperate for the early restart of the peace process on the Korean Peninsula, including the issue of an end-of-war declaration related to the situation on the Korean Peninsula,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Wang said at the meeting that “new changes are taking place in the situation on the Korean Peninsula.” “China has consistently insisted that the two Koreas play a more active role as masters of the Korean Peninsula,” he said. However, there was no explicit mention of the ‘declaration of the end of the war between the two Koreas, the United States and China’ mentioned by President Moon Jae-in.
It is the first time in a month and a half since the 15th of last month that the two ministers had a face-to-face meeting. At that time, North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the East Sea as soon as Director Wang finished the Blue House precautions, embarrass the Chinese position. However, recently, the South Korean government has been trying to speed up the resumption of inter-Korean and North Korea dialogue with the declaration of an end to the war. After North Korea responded to the declaration of an end to the war as an ‘interesting proposal’, face-to-face discussions are actively taking place between the chief representatives of the North Korean nuclear negotiations between the US and South Korea. The ‘new change’ mentioned by Director Wang is interpreted as having such a move in mind. However, it is reported that the US side is sticking to its position that it cannot propose an end-of-war declaration first unless North Korea appears on the table. Reporter Choi Ji-seon aurinko@donga.com>
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