SEOUL– The top diplomats of South Korea and China held video talks Friday to discuss the conflict in Ukraine, security on the Korean Peninsula and ties between the two countries, Seoul’s foreign ministry said.
The talks between Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, came amid multinational efforts to hold Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine and renewed tensions over Sunday’s North Korean ballistic missile launch.
Chung condemned Russia’s armed incursion as an act against the U.N. Charter, stressing use of force that can cause innocent human casualties cannot be justified “under any circumstances,” the ministry said.
Chung also explained South Korea’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, for which he said Seoul has decided to join anti-Moscow sanctions.
Wang said in turn while the U.N. Charter should be observed, each country’s legitimate security concern should also be respected, the ministry said, in an apparent backing for Russia’s stance.
Russia has complained of security threats due to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)’s eastward expansion.
The Chinese diplomat also said Beijing, as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, supports a peaceful settlement of the conflict and would play a “constructive role” to that end, according to the ministry.
At the talks, Chung and Wang agreed to work together to enhance friendship between peoples of the two countries, sharing the view that mutual understanding is the “crucial foundation” for the future development of bilateral relations.
Anti-Chinese sentiment has grown in South Korea around the Beijing Winter Olympics, as a woman clad in the Korean traditional attire, hanbok, appeared at the opening ceremony in what many Koreans regarded as an attempt to promote hanbok as Chinese.
That sentiment further worsened following what Koreans perceived as biased refereeing in the early stages of short track speed skating during the Olympics.
Chung and Wang also discussed the security situations on the peninsula and shared the need for an early resumption of peace efforts with North Korea.
In addition, they exchanged views on Japan’s push for the UNESCO World Heritage designation of a mine linked to wartime forced labor and its plan to discharge radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean.
Source: Yonhap News Agency