Yoon Departs for San Francisco APEC... Korean Diplomacy Strategy Gains Flexibility if Korea-China Summit Materializes

Yoon Warns of Illegal North Korea-Russia Arms Trade
Plans to Emphasize Restoration of Multilateral Trade System
Discusses Successful Korea-China Summit and Resumption of Japan-Korea-China Trilateral Summit

President Yoon Suk-yeol will visit the United States from the 15th to the 18th to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit. President Yoon plans to condemn the illegal military cooperation between North Korea and Russia to other world leaders and emphasize APEC's leadership in overcoming the global complex crisis. As the South Korean government is focusing on strengthening deterrence against North Korea and stabilizing supply chains, attention is focused on whether a Korea-China summit between President Yoon and Chinese President Xi Jinping will take place.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the day of departure, President Yoon will leave for San Francisco, USA, where the APEC Summit is held. Upon arriving in San Francisco on the 15th (local time), his first schedule is to attend a meeting with the Korean diaspora, followed by delivering a keynote speech and holding an investment declaration ceremony at the APEC CEO Summit. He will then attend the APEC welcome reception hosted by the host country and plans to have a dialogue with the Korean future generation in the advanced technology sector locally.

From the 16th, President Yoon will engage in the main APEC Summit schedule. At the APEC Summit, President Yoon plans to address the illegality of arms transactions between North Korea and Russia and international cooperative responses, the restoration of the multilateral trade system to overcome the global complex crisis, strengthening regional supply chain connectivity, the necessity of APEC cooperation to establish digital ethical norms, and South Korea’s role.

Additionally, President Yoon will attend the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) summit led by the United States on the same day. On the 17th, he is scheduled to participate in a roundtable discussion at Stanford University in the U.S. with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, focusing on cooperation in advanced technology sectors among Korea, Japan, and the U.S.

The biggest focus of President Yoon’s visit to the U.S. this time is whether a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping will be realized. If the Korea-China summit takes place, it will be the second face-to-face meeting between President Yoon and President Xi since Yoon’s inauguration. President Yoon held his first summit with President Xi last November during the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia.

If the Korea-China summit is realized, discussions to resume the Korea-Japan-China trilateral summit are also expected to gain momentum. Along with this, high-level exchanges for President Xi’s visit to South Korea may also take place. There is a possibility that a foundation to reduce South Korea’s economic diplomatic risks with China could be established. Although there have been concerns that South Korea’s participation in IPEF might negatively affect Korea-China relations, the presidential office maintains that South Korea’s participation in IPEF is aimed at stabilizing supply chains and is not intended to contain China. Earlier, on the 31st of last month during a National Assembly policy speech, President Yoon stated, “We will continue mutually beneficial cooperation with China so that companies and citizens of both countries can enjoy more opportunities and benefits of exchange.” U.S. President Joe Biden also fostered a reconciliatory atmosphere on the 14th by saying, “We are not trying to decouple from China,” and “What we are trying to do is to improve the relationship.”

In particular, with the APEC Summit and the U.S.-China summit as an opportunity, there is a possibility that the U.S. and China may restore military dialogue channels, and South Korea may also seek to elicit China’s response regarding North Korea’s illegal arms transactions and provocations. However, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lim Soo-seok said at a regular briefing, “Coordination between Korea and China is ongoing, but no concrete details have been decided yet.”

Meanwhile, President Yoon will return to Korea on the 18th, review domestic issues on the 19th, and then embark on a tour of the United Kingdom and France from the 20th to the 26th.

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