Regarding the 'Xinjiang Uighur' Issue... Jeong Eui-yong Urges "Restraint from Specific Remarks on China's Internal Matters"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong stated regarding the absence of sensitive Chinese human rights issues such as the 'Xinjiang Uyghur' problem in the recent South Korea-US joint summit declaration, "Our government has continuously refrained from making specific remarks on China's internal matters."

Minister Chung said at a joint ministry on-briefing held on the 25th, "It is true that there are various discussions in the international community regarding the China (Xinjiang Uyghur) issue," and made the statement.

He added, "In light of the special relationship between South Korea and China, our government has continuously refrained from making specific remarks on China's internal matters," and "This stance of our government is directly reflected in the recent joint declaration."

Regarding China's backlash over the inclusion of the 'Taiwan Strait' in the joint declaration, he emphasized, "Our government fully recognizes the special nature of cross-Strait relations," and "However, only very general and principled content emphasizing the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait was included in the joint declaration."

He continued, "Peace and stability in the region is a common hope shared by all members within the region."

When asked whether the South Korean government was the first to propose including the Taiwan Strait in the joint declaration, he drew a line by saying, "Due to diplomatic protocol, I cannot provide specific details."

Regarding the mention of North Korean human rights issues, he explained, "Since our government is directly involved, rather than an evaluation of North Korean human rights issues, we included positive wording about efforts to improve the human rights situation within North Korea."

On the difference between the terms 'North Korean denuclearization' and 'Korean Peninsula denuclearization,' he said, "Since the inauguration of the Biden administration, there has been a tendency to use 'North Korean denuclearization' and 'Korean Peninsula denuclearization' interchangeably, but through this South Korea-US summit, both sides unified the terminology to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings," and "there is no significant difference between North Korea's concept of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as expressed by our government."

Regarding when North Korea-US talks might take place, Minister Chung said, "Regarding the new US policy toward North Korea, we expect early dialogue between the US and North Korea," and "It is not appropriate to speculate on when and how such talks will occur."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.