South Korea, China FMs meet amid North Korea tensions

The foreign ministers of South Korea and China met in Seoul on Wednesday for talks expected to focus on North Korea and other regional security issues, two days after the North claimed to have tested a new missile in its first weapons test in six months.

Their meeting came as the North fired two further ballistic missiles off its east coast, South Korea’s military said.

The two ballistic missiles launched from a site in central North Korea flew toward the waters of the Korean Peninsula’s east coast on Wednesday afternoon, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

Recent tests suggest North Korea is pushing to bolster its weapons arsenal amid a deadlock in nuclear diplomacy between Pyongyang and Washington.

North Korea said Monday it had successfully tested the newly developed missile twice over the weekend that it said hit targets 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away, a range that is enough to strike all of Japan including U.S. military bases there.

On Wednesday, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong was expected to ask China to play a more active role in persuading the North to return to the nuclear negotiations during the meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

While there are questions about China's influence on North Korea, Beijing is still North Korea's last major ally and aid benefactor.

More than 90% of North Korea's trade goes through China, though bilateral trade volume has nosedived since North Korea closed its international borders early last year at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

During Wednesday's talks, some observers said Wang would also seek to strengthen ties with South Korea to try to prevent it from titling too much toward the United States amid intense rivalry between the world's two biggest economies.

They said China worry about a U.S. plan to recalibrate its foreign policy toward growing challenges posed by China and Russia following its troops' withdrawal from Afghanistan.

South Korea has been struggling to strike a balance between the United States and China.

It's a key traditional U.S. ally where about 28,500 American troops are deployed to deter potential aggression from North Korea.

But its export-driven economy heavily relies on China, its biggest trading partner.

IMAGE: AP