South Korean foreign minister tries to reassure Beijing on ties with US on first visit to China

Park is scheduled to stay in the eastern port city of Qingdao for three days, during which she will hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Seoul’s foreign ministry said. Park is the first senior official to visit China since Yoon took office in May.

Her visit comes after Beijing expressed outrage over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week. China claims the self-governing island as its own.

Yoon was criticized by lawmakers — some from her governing party — for not meeting with Pelosi. Yoon, who was on vacation, had a phone conversation with her. His office said the decision was made in the national interest and there was no pressure from Beijing.

Park’s visit carries high stakes as Seoul walks a fine line between its alliance with the United States and its increasingly intense rivalry with South Korea’s main trading partner, China.

Park said her visit would be an opportunity to reduce misunderstandings and promote cooperation in areas such as trade, health and the environment.

“By vigorously promoting high-level strategic communication, we can better understand each other, reduce unnecessary misunderstandings and expand common interests,” he told a news conference.

Park noted that when he met Wang at the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Thailand last month, Beijing said it would strengthen the U.S. alliance with South Korea and participate in the U.S.-backed Economic Forum for Asia. https://www.reuters.com/world/beijing-says-us-backed-asia-plan-seeks-decouple-countries-china-2022-05-25 Countries in its economies do not want to “ignore or marginalize” relations with China.

Both sides are also at loggerheads over THAAD, the U.S. missile defense system deployed in South Korea, and Seoul’s possible participation in the U.S.-led CHIP alliance with Taiwan and Japan, which China opposes.

Yun has pledged to buy and deploy another THAAD battery — no additional THAAD deployment, no participation in the U.S.-led Global Missile Defense System and no establishment of a triangulation — abandoning his predecessor’s 2017 pledge to China, known as the “Three Zeros.” A military alliance that includes Japan.

China says the system’s powerful radar can scan its skies, and ties have suffered setbacks after China sharply cut trade and cultural imports.

Beijing’s foreign ministry has urged Seoul to keep the promise, but Park recently questioned in parliament that the “three zeros” were not an official promise or agreement.

Yonhap news agency reported on Monday that South Korea had decided to attend a preparatory meeting for the CHIP deal, known as “CHIP 4”, citing an unnamed senior presidential official.

Yoon said his government was investigating the matter in light of national interests, and the State Department said no decision had been made.