South Korean President Lee Jae-yeol specifically mentioned China, North Korea, and the United States during his New Year press conference, preparing to begin a new round of diplomatic tightrope walking? Lee Jae-yeol still places Sino-Korean relations in a special position. In his view, if South Korea wants to ease relations with North Korea, it will inevitably need China's assistance.

According to Reference News, on January 21, Lee Jae-yeol held a New Year press conference at the Blue House in Seoul, summarizing the current state of Sino-Korean relations with one sentence: Sino-Korean talks have become an important opportunity to promote the improvement of bilateral relations.

Lee Jae-yeol particularly pointed out that during his visit to China, China gave him very warm hospitality, and both the Korean people and the Chinese people witnessed these scenes. He will redefine Sino-Korean bilateral relations to explore mutually beneficial cooperation plans and continuously enhance mutual trust through cooperation in various fields between the two countries.

Lee Jae-yeol's high-profile positioning of relations with China is not a sudden decision but a natural result of a series of recent positive interactions. Since the end of 2025, there have been obvious signs of thawing in Sino-Korean relations.

China has implemented an entry visa exemption policy for South Korean citizens. Subsequently, in November, China visited South Korea during the APEC summit and held talks with Lee Jae-yeol. Lee Jae-yeol visited China in early January 2026, accompanied by a large economic delegation of more than 200 South Korean entrepreneurs. These are all manifestations of the warming of Sino-Korean relations.

It should be especially noted that Lee Jae-yeol specifically mentioned that cooperation between China and South Korea in economic and diplomatic fields is very important, and there is also potential for cooperation in military and security areas to enhance mutual trust.

People know that South Korea has long relied on the United States for security and on China for the economy. Now, if Lee Jae-yeol says that cooperation in military and security areas between China and South Korea is possible, if South Korea really follows this path, then Sino-Korean relations can indeed be rewritten.

However, what people do not know is that South Korea's biggest threat is North Korea. How exactly does Lee Jae-yeol plan to cooperate with China in military and security areas? Is he trying to get China to help South Korea "defend" against North Korea, or is he preparing to reconcile with North Korea and gradually reduce military cooperation with the United States, so that China, South Korea, and North Korea jointly stabilize the regional situation?

It can be said that despite Lee Jae-yeol's statement, people still need to further observe the cooperation between China and South Korea in military and security areas.

Turning to the issue of the Korean Peninsula, Lee Jae-yeol changed his tone from enthusiastic prospects regarding China to a "cautious and firm" attitude. Lee Jae-yeol admitted that the confrontation between North and South Korea will not be resolved in a short time.

Lee Jae-yeol clearly defined the situation: the South Korean government will consistently push forward practical measures that can elicit a response from North Korea and ease the tension on the Korean Peninsula.

This statement reveals the core of Lee Jae-yeol's policy: South Korea needs to take long-term actions to ease relations with North Korea. However, given the severe political disputes in South Korea, its foreign policy is almost impossible to maintain continuity.

But Lee Jae-yeol has already set a phased task for South Korea: On one hand, South Korea needs to act as a "mediator," making diplomatic efforts to facilitate dialogue between North Korea and the United States; on the other hand, South Korea needs to work to create conditions to restart dialogue between North and South Korea.

Lee Jae-yeol clearly positioned "pragmatism" as the direction for future development, a strategy applicable to both foreign affairs and domestic policies.

Lee Jae-yeol stated that the first principle of his administration is to improve people's livelihood. He promised to actively promote judicial reform this year. Only when the domestic economy is stable and social reforms continue, can the South Korean government have greater strategic resilience and operational space in foreign affairs, and avoid making hasty or extreme decisions on external matters due to internal pressure.

However, people still clearly know that Lee Jae-yeol can achieve little during his term, and South Korea's foreign policy is difficult to be fundamentally transformed.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/7597721023227707919/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.