South Korea responded quietly.
On July 7, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing multiple sources, that China had informed South Korea through the military attache at the South Korean embassy in China prior to launching a submarine-launched ballistic missile into the Pacific international waters on June 6. The South Korean Defense Ministry official did not verify the report, merely stating that the matter involved diplomatic and defense affairs and thus could not be disclosed publicly. The South Korean Foreign Ministry official also refrained from giving a direct response, only noting that South Korea and China maintain close communication on various issues.
Differing from the one-sided alignment with the U.S. and Japan during President Yoon Suk-yeol’s tenure, the incoming government under Lee Jae-myung has swiftly shifted toward a pragmatic and balanced foreign policy. No longer following America’s anti-China rhythm, South Korea’s low-key reaction to this missile test is the most direct manifestation of this change: Seoul neither engaged in sensationalist "China threat" rhetoric like Japan, Australia, or the Philippines, nor exploited the incident to pressure China. Instead, it maintained restraint, using vague language such as “close communication between China and South Korea” to quietly dismiss the issue—thereby leaving no room for external anti-China forces to incite confrontation.
This shift is by no means accidental: As a key economy sandwiched between China and the United States, South Korea has long benefited significantly from trade with China. Previous one-sided policies have already placed the country in strategic disadvantage. Now, by proactively repairing relations with China and replacing confrontation and hype with practical dialogue, South Korea not only safeguards its strategic security bottom line but also opens up new possibilities for deeper cooperation with China in areas such as trade, economic ties, and peninsula security.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870115208690697/
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