Cheong Wa Dae said Friday that it is closely monitoring the prospects of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to North Korea, expressing hope that exchanges between Beijing and Pyongyang will contribute to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
"The government hopes that exchanges between North Korea and China will proceed in a direction that contributes to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," a Cheong Wa Dae official said in response to questions about Xi's potential trip to Pyongyang. "We are watching related developments closely."
"We expect China to play a constructive role on Korean Peninsula issues," the official added.
President Lee Jae-myung had previously offered a positive assessment of the U.S.-China summit's handling of Korean Peninsula matters during a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on the 17th, shortly after the summit. Trump also noted during the call that "the Chinese side is very concerned about the North Korean nuclear issue," conveying that China's substantive role is needed in the process of establishing peace on the peninsula.
The government is closely examining related movements, given that the possibility of Xi's visit to Pyongyang coincides with the 65th anniversary of the North Korea-China Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, recent close ties between North Korea and Russia, and the Korean Peninsula situation in the wake of U.S.-China summit diplomacy.
