Lee reaffirms commitment to cooperation in separate talks with Japanese, Chinese leaders
Published: 24 Nov. 2025, 09:42
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- KIM MIN-YOUNG
- [email protected]
![President Lee Jae Myung, right, poses for a photo with Sanae Takaichi ahead of their pull-aside meeting held on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Nov. 23. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/11/24/2f662b87-5928-4d3f-a162-17e1715b7bee.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, right, poses for a photo with Sanae Takaichi ahead of their pull-aside meeting held on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Nov. 23. [YONHAP]
President Lee Jae Myung held separate talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in South Africa, reaffirming his commitment to deepening cooperation with the neighboring countries, his office said Sunday.
In the meeting with Takaichi in Johannesburg, the two leaders reaffirmed the importance of bilateral relations and the need for "future-oriented" cooperation, Seoul's presidential office said in a press release, as Seoul and Tokyo seek to enhance collaboration amid economic and geopolitical uncertainties.
"Managing the two countries' relations stably is the role of politicians," Lee was quoted as saying. "I hope that the two countries will further develop their relations while focusing on sectors where bilateral cooperation is possible."
Both leaders agreed to continue their reciprocal visits to each other's countries, known as "Shuttle diplomacy," and communicate more closely on a wide range of issues, including the economy and security.
Their meeting came less than a month after they met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held in Korea.
In a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Lee shared his assessment that his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the APEC summit helped fully restore bilateral ties, Lee's office said. Relations between Seoul and Beijing had been strained as former President Yoon Suk Yeol's government focused on beefing up bilateral and trilateral cooperation with the United States and Japan.
He also called for the two countries to push for cooperation that would contribute substantively to supporting the livelihoods of people in both nations.
![This file photo, released by Korea's presidential office, shows South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping walking to a venue for bilateral talks in Korea's southeastern city of Gyeongju on Nov. 1. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/11/24/7862b938-1435-4907-9780-4f4bd25a4b79.jpg)
This file photo, released by Korea's presidential office, shows South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping walking to a venue for bilateral talks in Korea's southeastern city of Gyeongju on Nov. 1. [YONHAP]
Calling Xi's recent visit to Korea "successful," Li expressed his hope to enhance "mutually beneficial" cooperation with Korea, and steadfastly develop bilateral relations from a "long-term" perspective, according to the presidential office.
Lee conveyed his warm regards to Xi through Premier Li, and expressed his expectation to meet Xi in Beijing at an early date.
Korea, China and Japan reportedly had consultations to arrange their first trilateral summit since May 2024. But the outlook for trilateral engagement remains cloudy amid a diplomatic row between Tokyo and Beijing over Takaichi's recent remarks on Taiwan.
On Nov. 7, Takaichi suggested before the House of Representatives that Japan could intervene with force under its right to self-defense during a potential Taiwan-China conflict, becoming the first sitting Japanese leader to do so.
Beijing has since unleashed a barrage of harsh criticism through its foreign and defense ministries and state-run media. It has also begun effectively imposing retaliatory measures, advising Chinese nationals to refrain from traveling to or studying in Japan and halting the screening of Japanese films within the mainland. Last Wednesday, China decided to once again suspend imports of Japanese seafood — a trade that had only just resumed earlier this month after more than two years.
![Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivers his opening remarks at the Lanting Forum on Improving Global Governance to Build a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office, in Beijing, Oct. 27. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/11/24/c56a1092-4d90-4720-b63d-9153a16b3eb0.jpg)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivers his opening remarks at the Lanting Forum on Improving Global Governance to Build a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office, in Beijing, Oct. 27. [AP/YONHAP]
Wang Yi, Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs and concurrently China’s foreign minister, urged reflection from Takaichi on Sunday, saying her remarks hinting at “intervening in a Taiwan contingency” had “crossed a red line that must not be touched.”
Wang made the comments in an interview with Chinese media after completing a round of strategic dialogues with his counterparts during visits to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan from Wednesday to Saturday last week, according to China’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday.
“In a year as significant as this one, what Japan ought to do is reflect deeply on its history of invading Taiwan and turning it into a colony, and on the war crimes committed by its militarism,” said Wang, stressing that this year marks the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II.
BY KIM MIN-YOUNG, YONHAP [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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