Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Seoul on Tuesday for his first visit to South Korea in nearly five years, holding talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and national security adviser Wi Sung-lac before a scheduled meeting with President Lee Jae-myung at the Blue House on Wednesday.
The visit comes as U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a significant reduction in joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises, a move he linked to interactions with Seoul regarding Iran's denuclearization. Trump also signaled willingness to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again. Wang expressed satisfaction at the two Koreas moving toward peaceful coexistence, while Cho reaffirmed Seoul's commitment to the "One China" policy and sought Beijing's cooperation on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea is also seeking to arrange a meeting between Lee and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen. Wang will continue to Indonesia to co-chair a "2+2" foreign and defense ministers' dialogue with Defense Minister Dong Jun.