Chinese foreign minister expresses public support of ending Korean War

Posted on : 2018-08-03 17:54 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Wang Yi’s remarks draw attention around reports that China wants a “quadrilateral declaration”
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is currently visiting Singapore to attend a foreign ministers’ meeting at the 24th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), said on Aug. 2 that the issue of a declaration ending the Korean war is “positive in terms of each country involved, and South and North Korea in particular, expressing their position on ending the war.”

The remarks are drawing attention for coming amid recent reports that China wants a “quadrilateral declaration” adopted with South and North Korea, the US, and itself participating.

Wang was speaking in response to questions about the preconditions for a declaration and China’s intent to participate during a press conference that afternoon at the Singapore Expo convention center.

“I believe that everyone can announce a declaration ending the war if they do not want war to happen again,” he said.

“This [statement] is fully suited to trends in the development of the current era, and it accords with the wishes of people in the individual countries, including South and North Korea,” he added.

The response contrasted with previous ones from Beijing, which stressed the matter of “establishing a peace regime” while avoiding special mention of a war-ending declaration.

“China’s previous position was that its participation was not necessary at the war-ending declaration stage,” explained a foreign affairs source familiar with the Korean Peninsula situation, suggesting Beijing’s position on the issue has recently shifted.

Korean National Diplomatic Academy professor Kim Han-kwon said, “It looks as though China, which was focused on improving relations with North Korea before when South Korea was attempting a trilateral [declaration] framework with itself and North Korea and the US, is moving quickly to strengthen cooperation with South Korea and intervene quickly as a stakeholder in Korean Peninsula issues now that the North Korea nuclear negotiations are bogging down.”

Discussions on a war-ending declaration had been a major focus of attention for a South Korea-China foreign ministers’ meeting scheduled for that evening. Ultimately postponed at China’s request, the meeting appears likely to take place on Aug. 3.

Major topics discussed at a meeting the same day between the South Korean and Japanese foreign ministers included the Moon Jae-in administration’s follow-up measures for a 2015 intergovernmental agreement on the Japanese military comfort women issue, the matter of Korean workers forcibly mobilized by imperial Japan, and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono reportedly stressed the importance of trilateral cooperation with the US on North Korea sanctions, referring to a recent controversy surrounding transshipment of North Korean coal.

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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