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Blue House National Security Office Director Suh Hoon and Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Yang Jiechi pose for a photo at the Westin Chosun Busan Hotel on Aug. 22, 2020. (Yonhap News)

Blue House National Security Office Director Suh Hoon will arrive in China on Thursday for a two-day visit.

During his stay, he is expected to meet with China’s foreign policy advisor, Yang Jiechi, to discuss the possibility of a declaration formally ending the Korean War.

“Director Suh’s visit is currently under discussion with China,” a key Blue House official said Tuesday.

Discussions during the visit — which is taking place at Yang’s request — are likely to concern an end-of-war declaration. This is the first meeting between Suh and Yang in over 15 months, the two of them having last met in Busan in August 2020.

The interests of the two sides correspond, with the Chinese government looking forward to a successful Winter Olympics next February and the South Korean government hoping to use the games as an opportunity to resume the Korean Peninsula peace process, including a possible end-of-war declaration.

Suh appears likely to explain the declaration to his Chinese counterpart and request China’s cooperation. Suh previously discussed an end-of-war declaration with his US counterpart White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan during a meeting in the US in October.

The US has recently been weighing a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, with only athletes taking part while senior officials and diplomatic envoys sit the event out. The UK and Australia have also been aligning themselves with the US approach.

Other pitfalls for China include the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the discovery of the virus’ Omicron variant. These also pose problems for Seoul, which is hoping to use the Winter Olympics as a springboard for improving inter-Korean relations.

“It has not yet been decided how the Beijing Olympics are going to be held and at what level, so this doesn’t seem to be the time for the South Korean government to hold any particular position,” a key Blue House official said.

“We hope that the Beijing Olympics can be a turning point toward improving inter-Korean relations and an opportunity to contribute to peace in Northeast Asia and throughout the world,” the official added.

By Lee Wan, staff reporter

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