Moon to hold summit with Xi Jinping in Beijing on Dec. 23

South Korean President Moon Jae-in gives a speech on the economy at the Blue House on Dec. 19. (Blue House photo pool)

Two leaders likely to discuss Korean Peninsula issues and S. Korea-China exchange

South Korean President Moon Jae-in gives a speech on the economy at the Blue House on Dec. 19. (Blue House photo pool)

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will be holding a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Dec. 23. Given North Korea’s impending end-of-the-year deadline for its negotiations with the US, Moon is likely to ask China to play a role as a mediator to help decrease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

“While President Moon is visiting China to attend a trilateral summit with China and Japan, he will be holding a separate summit with Xi Jinping in Beijing on the morning of Dec. 23. That same afternoon, he will be traveling to Chengdu for a meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang. During their summit, Moon and Xi are planning to thoroughly discuss affairs on the Korean Peninsula and ways to develop South Korea-China relations and promote exchange and cooperation,” Blue House Deputy Spokesperson Han Jung-woo said on Dec. 19. This will be Moon’s first meeting with Xi in six months, since the G20 summit in Osaka this past June.

Moon is likely to focus on the role that China can play in easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The Blue House believes that the North Korea-US conflict has recently become more serious, an observation based on the war of words that the two sides are waging, including mentions of the possibility of using force, and the lack of even unofficial contact. During a meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan L?ven the day before, Moon described the situation on the Korean Peninsula as a “difficult crisis.” Moon and Xi could also discuss the issue of unresolved retaliatory measures that China adopted after South Korea allowed the US to deploy its THAAD missile defense system in the country.

Summit with Abe on Dec. 24

Furthermore, Moon will be holding a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Dec. 24, in Chengdu, to discuss the possibility of Japan rolling back export controls and South Korea extending its General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan.

By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter

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