This month marks a crucial juncture in South Korea's diplomacy with China: Attention on the expected China-South Korea foreign ministers' meeting

South Korean news agency Yonhap News reported in a STREAM article on the 2nd of this month that "South Korea's diplomacy in March is expected to focus on relations with China." On the 22nd of this month, the Japan-China-South Korea Foreign Ministers' Meeting will be held in Tokyo.
The three countries are currently making adjustments in this direction, and a meeting between the Chinese and Korean foreign ministers is also expected to be held in conjunction with this. Anti-China sentiment remains festering in South Korea, particularly among some conservative forces, but the Chinese government has
In November 2017, the government announced that it would allow Koreans and other people to enter China without a visa. This has led to a sharp increase in Korean tourists visiting China.
China has imposed a "ban on Korean culture" to restrict the inflow of Korean culture, such as Korean paintings, into China, but it is believed that this ban may be lifted as early as May.
Attention is focused on the Japan-China-South Korea foreign ministers' meeting and the China-South Korea foreign ministers' meeting scheduled to be held on the 2nd. China is dissatisfied with the foreign policy of South Korea's Yun Seok-yeol administration, which is strengthening ties with Japan and the United States.
However, in November last year, President Yoon visited Lima, Peru to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The summit was the first meeting between the two leaders in two years since November 2022. At the meeting, Yoon spoke about North Korea's strengthening military cooperation with Russia and its continued military provocations.
He pointed out that the repetition of the US-Korea tensions is destabilizing the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and called on China to play a constructive role.
He also called for strengthening cooperation in the area of people-to-people exchanges. In response, Xi expressed his view that China and South Korea should promote the development of a healthy and stable relationship and contribute to regional stability and prosperity.
In the midst of a rapidly changing international situation, with North Korea and Russia strengthening military cooperation and the inauguration of the second Trump administration in the United States in January this year, South Korea has been making efforts to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.
To achieve this, an advanced diplomatic strategy that proactively utilizes "China leverage" (a mechanism for using small forces to move big things) has been required.
However, after Yoon declared "emergency martial law" in December last year, domestic politics
The Democratic Party and other opposition parties have called for the withdrawal of the constitution, accusing Yoon of "attempting to disrupt the constitutional order and committing an internal rebellion aimed at permanently seizing power."
The government pointed out the violations and submitted a motion to impeach Yoon to the National Assembly. A vote was held in December last year, and the motion passed with 204 votes in favor and 85 against. Yoon was subsequently suspended from his duties, and is currently serving as the head of the Choi San-il administration.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Mok is acting as the president. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yol spoke by phone with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in December last year to explain the political situation in South Korea.
In response, Wang stated that China recognizes the changes in South Korea's domestic situation and that it adheres to the principle of "non-interference in internal affairs."
He said he was confident that the South Korean people had the "wisdom and ability" to deal with their own country's problems appropriately.
Some believe that if Yoon is impeached and presidential elections are held in South Korea, they hope that a government that is friendly to China will be born.
In the midst of this, the three countries are said to be making arrangements to hold a foreign ministers' meeting in Tokyo on the 22nd of this month.
The foreign ministers' meeting has not been held since the one in Busan, South Korea, in November 2023. If it is held, it is expected that the three-way summit, which is expected to be held in Japan later this year, will be discussed.
Yonhap News also reported that "a meeting between the foreign ministers of South Korea and China is expected to be held in conjunction with the summit." If this happens, it will be the first such meeting since the two leaders met in New York in September last year.
"Attention is focused on what opinions will be exchanged regarding the Trump administration's efforts to check China," he said. "In South Korea, anti-China sentiment has worsened, particularly among some conservative forces, and
They are also expected to discuss President Xi's visit to South Korea to coincide with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, and cultural exchanges between the two countries.
.