South Korea, China discuss ways to reopen denuclearisation talks with N Korea & K-pop ban

South Korea and China held talks on Tuesday to explore ways to kick start the denuclearisation negotiations with North Korea as well as resume cultural exports, such as K-pop music and movies, to Beijing. This comes as South Korea's foreign minister Park Jin arrived in the eastern port city of Qingdao where he held meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. This was the first high-level visit to China since President Yoon Suk-Yeol took office.   

S Korea, China agree to be in 'win-win' position

Wang agreed that the two nations must enhance cooperation and remain "independent, free from external obstacles and influences." "We must uphold a 'win-win' position to protect stable and smooth supply chains and industrial networks, and should not interfere in each other's internal affairs based on equality and respect," he said as per the Yonhap news agency.

As the two nations will mark 30 years of diplomacy, South Korea's Park affirmed that there shall be mutual respect and universal values exchanged between both countries. He announced that there will be a resumption of cultural exchanges and that South Korea will start the exports of K-pop and Korean movies, dramas and games, which were banned in Beijing. 

China’s heavily regulated social media platform Weibo has been rampantly taking down K-pop fan accounts, which include more than two dozen fan accounts for South Korean pop band BTS, Blackpink and other major K-pop groups to reportedly curb the fan frenzy and pop culture among the teens. In an attempt to counter what it described as “irrational star-chasing”, China discontinued many K-POP fan pages, alleging illegal fundraisers for some. 

Many fan accounts for the popular South Korean K-pop band BTS, which is also followed by US Vice President Kamala Harris, were also suspended. Weibo stated that it opposes irrational star-chasing behaviour in Beijing among the teens and will deal with it seriously. The platform has since taken down numerous social media accounts of K-pop celebrities.

Park during the meeting reiterated that South Korea is planning to propose a joint action plan in order to boost ties as 2022 will mark the 30th anniversary of sharing strong ties with Beijing. The two nations pledged to reinforce strategic communication and discuss the issues of denuclearising North Korea and stabilising global supply chains.