Chinese State-Linked Journalist Hu Xijin Criticizes South Korea's Foreign Policy Harshly

Hu Xijin, the former editor-in-chief of the Global Times and known as a representative Chinese state-affiliated journalist, criticized South Korea's diplomatic policy, which emphasizes the strengthening of the South Korea-US alliance and trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the US, and Japan, using disparaging expressions.

On the 2nd, Hu posted an article titled "South Korea Should Not Make Its Security the Insole of the US Military Boot" on his WeChat channel, a Chinese social media platform.

In the article, he mentioned South Korea's efforts to strengthen the trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the US, and Japan, President Yoon Suk-yeol's diplomatic stance toward Japan including his March 1st Independence Movement Day speech, South Korea's participation in the semiconductor supply chain consortium "Chip 4," and Foreign Minister Park Jin's remarks on Taiwan. He also introduced the proportion of China in South Korea's trade by listing figures.

He went on to argue, "South Korea must clearly understand that while the US provides direct military protection, China is an important force in maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula."

Hu wrote, "If South Korea embraces only the US and disregards others, its security will become like an object hanging from the US's waist, and it will even become the insole of the US military boot, completely losing its autonomy."

He also evaluated that South Korea's diplomacy has consistently oscillated between friendly relations with neighboring countries and close alignment with the US, adding, "I hope South Korea, which should be a player in the complex Northeast Asian 'baduk' board, does not become a 'baduk stone' of the US."

Previously, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs caused controversy by using the four-character idiom "B?r?ng zh?hu? (不容置喙)," meaning "no interference tolerated," in response to Foreign Minister Park Jin's remarks related to Taiwan.

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