Tag: China

I am surprised that the number of Koreans supporting the expansion of the U.S.-ROK alliance is this high:

Koreans are carefully weighing the possible consequences of expanded security cooperation with the United States, especially regarding possible conflicts with China, a survey suggests.  
   
In a recent survey of 1,000 Koreans over the age 18 by the JoongAng Ilbo and the East Asia Institute, 81.8 percent agreed that the Korea-U. S. alliance should address not only issues of the Korean Peninsula but also those of the region at large. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

However, though the Korean public favors expanding the U.S.-ROK alliance, they don’t want the ROK to become involved in a conflict over Taiwan:

Should a conflict break out between the United States and China in the Taiwan Strait, a majority of respondents wanted Korea to take no part in the clash.  
   
Slightly more respondents said Korea should remain uninvolved in a clash over Taiwan than those who said Korea should play a role in the conflict, 56.5 percent to 43.5 percent.  
   
When asked more generally what Korea should do in a potential conflict between the two superpowers, 50.3 percent said Korea should stay neutral; 45.2 percent said Korea should support the United States; and 4.2 percent said that Korea should support China. 

Luckily for South Korea countries back in 1950 came to their aid when they were attacked by aggressive Communists, but now the majority of Koreans want to turn their backs on a country very similar to them facing aggressive Communism today.

A lot more interesting findings from this survey can be read at the link.

It will be interesting to see if Chinese President Emperor Xi Jin-ping actually visits Seoul or not because I am not sure what he and President Yoon would talk about. If Xi comes that means some kind of concession would need to be made by South Korea. What concession could Yoon give Xi for a visit?:

In this file photo, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) poses for a photo with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, during their bilateral talks at a hotel in Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 15, 2022, on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit. (Yonhap)

The office of President Yoon Suk Yeol will set out to arrange a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to South Korea, a senior government official said Sunday.

“As President Xi brought up a visit first to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, we will start discussing the matter with China in earnest through diplomatic channels,” the official told Yonhap News Agency on condition of anonymity.

Chinese President Xi said Saturday he will seriously consider a visit to Seoul during his meeting with Prime Minister Han on the sidelines of the Asian Games, which is currently taking place in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This would be a very interesting summit if it ever happened. I wonder if they would do it if China said North Korea has to attend as well?:

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida talk during a visit to the Raj Ghat memorial in New Delhi on Sept. 10, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed Sunday to work toward realizing a trilateral summit with China, the presidential office said.

The two held talks on the margins of a Group of 20 summit in New Delhi, expressing their pleasure at meeting a total of six times since March, when Yoon traveled to Tokyo to mend bilateral relations badly frayed over historical disputes.

“The president said the two countries should continue active meetings in the second half of the year and smoothly implement the process to hold a South Korea-Japan-China summit,” the presidential office said in a press release. “Prime Minister Kishida said he would actively respond.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I hope the Russians bring along a tugboat to help the North Korean ships keep up:

Kim Kyou-hyun (C, back), chief of the National Intelligence Service, attends a plenary session of the intelligence committee at the National Assembly in Seoul on Sept. 4, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

Russia proposed conducting three-way naval exercises with North Korea and China when Moscow’s defense minister held a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in late July, South Korea’s intelligence agency was quoted as saying Monday.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the proposal when he held a one-on-one meeting with the North’s leader, National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Kim Kyou-hyun said during a close-door briefing to the parliamentary intelligence committee, according to Rep. Yoo Sang-bum of the ruling People Power Party.

Shoigu visited the North from July 25-27.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.