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Cho Tae-yul, who previously served as South Korea’s ambassador to the UN and was tapped to serve as minister of foreign affairs, speaks to the press outside his confirmation hearing preparation office in Seoul on Dec. 20. (Yonhap)

The nominee to serve as South Korea’s next foreign minister said Wednesday that since Korea’s relationship with China is just as important as its alliance with the US, he would try to find ways to maintain harmony in Korea-China relations.

The nominee, Cho Tae-yul, was responding to a question about diplomacy with China while speaking with reporters on his way to work at the office in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, where he’s preparing for his confirmation hearing.

“Since the Korea-US alliance, Korea-Japan relations, and trilateral security cooperation with the US and Japan had been somewhat neglected, President Yoon has focused on correcting that since coming to office. But the fact is that there’s a sense that we’ve tilted too far toward the US, Japan and trilateral cooperation,” the Cho said.

“I regard that as the kind of thing that happens when the pendulum swings to the left and then swings back to the right to restore balance,” he added.

“My understanding is that a fair amount of consensus has formed between Korea, China and Japan about holding a trilateral summit and that there’s a willingness to arrange the summit at a mutually convenient time, so I’ll be working to bring that about as soon as possible,” Cho said.

Cho also addressed the view that North Korea, China and Russia are currently drawing closer together.

“I’m aware that some assert that increasing cooperation between South Korea, the US and Japan has been pushing North Korea, China and Russia closer together. But in my view, close ties between North Korea, China and Russia are nothing new, and China-Russia relations have been strengthening since the previous administration, despite its push for dialogue,” he said.

“Since we’re seeing a continuation of that, claiming the opposite would seem to be misrepresenting the facts. Nevertheless, allowing antagonism to become entrenched between South Korea, the US and Japan on one side and North Korea, China and Russia on the other does not serve our foreign policy, so I’ll be paying close attention to that,” the nominee added.

Cho made the following remarks about the long-running dispute between Korea and Japan about Koreans who were conscripted for labor during the Japanese colonial occupation: “Anyone who has watched the forced labor issue play out is aware that this is an extremely difficult matter. And [this matter] has been further complicated by conflicting rulings by the two countries’ courts, making it extremely hard to find a diplomatic solution.”

Cho then commented on the third-party compensation plan that the Korean government has proposed as its own solution to the forced labor issue.

“I will work to find a harmonious method, based on the solution presented by the Yoon administration, by taking into account Korea-Japan relations, as well as human rights issues and the various ways the victims have suffered,” he said.

The foreign minister nominee responded as follows to a question about North Korea’s increasingly belligerent shows of force.

“Since it would be extremely difficult to push for denuclearization or resume dialogue in the current circumstances, I’ll put the priority on strengthening deterrence against North Korea in full consideration of our sobering reality while also working with our neighbors to find a path to dialogue and negotiations.”

Cho previously served as South Korea’s ambassador to the UN. He was nominated by President Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday to replace Park Jin in the post of foreign minister.

By Shin Hyeong-cheol, staff reporter

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