South Korea turns to China as Trump warms up to Kim

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi arrived in Seoul on Wednesday for talks with South Korean officials, as US President Donald Trump’s push to revive diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reshapes the security dynamics on the Korean Peninsula.Wang met South Korean foreign minister Cho Hyun shortly after arriving and is scheduled to meet President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday.The talks come just days after Trump ordered changes to the annual US-South Korea military exercises, saying he did so because of his “very good relationship” with Kim and signalling that he remains open to another meeting with the North Korean leader.The US and South Korea had been conducting the annual drills as a major show of military readiness against North Korea.

The exercises, involving tens of thousands of troops, were scaled back amid Trump’s renewed outreach to Pyongyang. Trump has also been weighing how to manage US military commitments in the region as Washington remains heavily engaged in the war with Iran.The decision has drawn attention because the exercises have long been a key part of the US security commitment to South Korea.North Korea routinely condemns them as rehearsals for an invasion, while Seoul and Washington have maintained that they are defensive in nature.

Against this backdrop, Wang’s Seoul visit gives Beijing a chance to push for a diplomatic solution while reinforcing its own role in Korean Peninsula affairs.China is North Korea’s only formal treaty ally, and Wang said Washington should change its “hostile policy” towards Pyongyang.China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and promoting a political settlement were in the “common interests of all parties”.Wang also said China hoped South Korea and North Korea could gradually pursue opportunities for “peace and coexistence”, while expressing Beijing’s support for lasting stability and development on the peninsula.

Seoul seeks closer China ties

South Korea is simultaneously trying to strengthen its relationship with Beijing. Foreign minister Cho told Parliament that Seoul was pursuing a summit between Lee and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen in November.Lee is expected to attend the APEC meeting and has proposed multilateral talks involving countries that were parties to the 1950-53 Korean War, with the aim of establishing lasting peace on the peninsula.Wang described South Korea as China’s “most important neighbouring country” and said Beijing would “make efforts that we rightfully should” to support stability.Cho said he hoped the restoration of South Korea-China relations would contribute to peace and stability across the region, including on the Korean Peninsula.

Trump’s Kim outreach changes security calculus

Trump’s decision to scale back the US-South Korea drills came as he signalled a renewed willingness to engage Kim, despite North Korea’s continued rejection of denuclearisation talks on terms previously sought by Washington.The exercises had involved roughly 39,000 US and South Korean troops, making them one of the most significant demonstrations of allied military readiness in the region. Their reduction has therefore been closely watched for what it could mean for US deterrence commitments to Seoul.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, meanwhile said the reduction in the scale of the drills did not change their nature, with KCNA reporting that Pyongyang continued to view the exercises as a military threat.For South Korea, the diplomatic opening presents a complicated balancing act: Seoul wants to preserve its military alliance with Washington, improve relations with Beijing and simultaneously create space for dialogue with Pyongyang.Wang’s visit comes at precisely that intersection, with Trump reaching towards Kim, China urging dialogue and Seoul trying to keep all three relationships from colliding.