Anchor: President Yoon Suk Yeol met face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time at the end of his Southeast Asia tour on Tuesday. It was also the first in-person meeting between the two countries' heads of state in nearly three years. The meeting offered the two leaders a chance to gauge their positions on issues affecting the region and the world, particularly North Korea’s recent provocations, but no firm agreement was made on how to engage the North.
Tom McCarthy has the details.

Report: President Yoon Suk Yeol sat down with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time on the Indonesian island of Bali on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Tuesday.

Seoul’s presidential office said that during the 25-minute meeting, Yoon called on China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to play a more constructive and active role in containing North Korea in the wake of intensified provocations by the North in recent months.

Xi also stressed the importance of keeping peace on the Korean Peninsula and the wider region, noting it is a matter of mutual interest for China as well as South Korea.

However, differences were on display in their approaches, with the Chinese leader expressing his hope that Seoul would proactively work toward improving inter-Korean relations.

Xi also expressed conditional support for Yoon’s “bold initiative” for the North that offers economic assistance in exchange for moves toward denuclearization, saying that Beijing will back it should Pyongyang accept the proposal.

The two leaders still appeared to be in firm agreement on continuing efforts to further the South Korea-China relations.

Reflecting on the course of bilateral exchanges and cooperation since the two neighbors launched diplomatic ties in 1992, they agreed that Seoul and Beijing should continue to develop their relations based on the principles of mutual respect and reciprocity with consideration for joint interests.

Further concurrence was reached when Yoon proposed regular high-level dialogue between the two governments to address challenges such as the pandemic, economic uncertainties and climate change. Xi, on his part, brought up a one-point-five track dialogue that would include private-sector experts as well.

Xi indicated that he was open to possibly accepting Yoon’s invitation to South Korea once the pandemic situation stabilizes. He also reciprocated by inviting Yoon to visit China at a mutually convenient time.

Yoon returned home Wednesday morning, wrapping up a dense diplomatic schedule of major regional and global summits, as well as bilateral meetings with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida before the three all met together. In the trilateral summit, the three leaders agreed to cooperate further to counter North Korean threats.

The adoption of an agreement on economic and security cooperation demonstrated the fortified relationship of the three nations as they show a unified front in the face of North Korean provocations.

Tom McCarthy, KBS WORLD Radio News.