Economic and security frictions dominated a summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping, as Lee raised concerns over sanctions and the lingering fallout from the THAAD missile defense system deployment.
During the talks in Gyeongju, Lee reportedly had a “productive” discussion about Chinese sanctions on South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean. He also directly addressed the years-long restrictions on South Korean entertainment content, an unofficial ban imposed by Beijing after the 2017 deployment of the U.S.-led THAAD system.
The tense discussions occurred alongside Lee’s primary request: that Xi help restart talks with North Korea. Lee is pushing a phased denuclearisation plan, but the effort was immediately dismissed by Pyongyang as a “pipe dream.”
On other military matters, South Korea’s defence minister met his Chinese counterpart at a separate ASEAN summit, raising the issue of Chinese military activity in Korea’s Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ).
Despite these areas of disagreement, the leaders signed seven bilateral agreements, including a currency swap. Xi called South Korea an “inseparable cooperative partner,” though Chinese state media omitted any mention of the North Korea talks or the THAAD and sanctions issues.