China announced a high-level visit to North Korea, and the South Korean foreign minister immediately called.

By Sanxuan

On October 10, North Korea will hold a military parade to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea. According to media reports, this is expected to be the largest military parade in North Korean history. North Korea has shown great importance, with Pyongyang entering a full state of combat readiness since late September, implementing traffic restrictions and blockades.

At the same time, North Korea has also sent invitation letters to several countries. China and Russia have both announced that they will send high-level delegations to attend. Russia has announced that Medvedev, chairman of the United Russia Party and deputy chairman of the Security Council, will lead a delegation to Pyongyang. China will send a high-level delegation at the "head of government" level to visit North Korea and attend the celebrations. Compared with Russia, the level of the Chinese delegation and the duration of the visit exceed expectations, which is a signal of the friendly relationship between China and North Korea.

North Korea will hold a military parade

In fact, in the past month, the high-level exchanges between China and North Korea have been very frequent. In early September, Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, was invited to China to attend the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. This was Kim's first appearance at an international multilateral diplomatic event, which carried special significance, making his every move in China highly watched. At the end of September, Choe Son-hui, the Foreign Minister of North Korea, visited China again, discussing Sino-South Korean relations with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and delivering an invitation letter. These diplomatic actions were laying the groundwork for the high-level visit by China.

For China, this move can deepen bilateral cooperation and promote the continuous development of the traditional friendly cooperative relationship between China and North Korea. It also helps to maintain the strategic space in Northeast Asia against the backdrop of the tightening of the US-Japan-South Korea security alliance. For North Korea, the participation of China is an important support for its diplomatic status and provides "endorsement" for its diplomatic goals.

Although the high-level interactions between China and North Korea are not aimed at any country, another country in Northeast Asia, South Korea, is undoubtedly keeping a close watch. It is worth noting that on the day when China announced its visit to North Korea, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-hak once again called China.

In the call, Wang Yi emphasized that China and South Korea are important neighboring countries and close partners. China always values the Sino-South Korean relationship and is willing to enhance mutual trust, eliminate interference, deepen cooperation, and achieve mutual success, contributing to the peace, stability, and development of the region. The South Korean Foreign Minister reiterated the importance of Sino-South Korean relations, emphasizing that "South Korea highly values and will do its best to develop relations with China."

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-hak

Since the Lee Jae-myung government took office, the communication between the foreign ministers of China and South Korea can be described as frequent. In addition to multiple calls with China, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-hak recently also visited China. These series of actions are partly due to what Lee Jae-myung said, to quickly improve relations with China, and partly because South Korea knows the importance of China in the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Currently, the situation on the Korean Peninsula is very delicate. Although Lee Jae-myung has repeatedly emphasized the desire to communicate with North Korea and restore mutual trust between the two countries, South Korea has not abandoned its cooperation with the United States to pressure North Korea. For example, the joint military exercises held by the US and South Korea on the Korean Peninsula have actually exacerbated the tension on the peninsula. Kim Jong-un has clearly stated that North Korea will never give up developing nuclear weapons. If Trump continues to focus on this point, he will not agree to the meeting.

Compared with this, China has maintained a rare strategic composure. We have not chosen to escalate the situation by taking sides but instead have called for an end to extreme pressure and returning to diplomatic channels. As an indispensable actor in the situation in Northeast Asia, China's ultimate goal is to push the Korean Peninsula issue back onto the political resolution track and build a long-term stable security framework in Northeast Asia.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7558799861174157851/

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