Following his visit earlier this month to the United States, Minister of Unification Ryu Woo Ik will head for China next week to discuss pending North Korea issues.
The Ministry of Unification announced the news today, revealing that Ryu will set off on the 3-day trip to Beijing on the 21st. He is expected to meet with high-ranked Chinese officials including State Councilor Dai Bingguo, CPC International Department head Dr. Wang Jia Rui, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and former Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan.
Ryu will also meet with China’s highest-ranked female figure, Vice Chairman of Standing Committee of 11th National People’s Congress Chen Zhili.
Ryu also plans to confer with Chinese experts including the heads of the National Development Strategy Institute, Modern International Relations Institute and International Issues Institute, and the head of Peking University’s international relations faculty. In addition, he will be meeting with local businessmen and overseas Koreans to explain the government’s policies vis-à-vis North Korea and get a feel for Chinese opinion.
South Korea particularly hopes that Ryu will be able to strengthen cooperation with China in terms of denuclearization, and get China to take on what Seoul would see as a more responsible role.
Spokesperson Park Su Jin of the Ministry of Unification explained, “The aim of Minister Ryu’s visit to China this time round is to deepen China’s understanding of the situation on the Korean Peninsula and inter-Korean relations, as well as to strengthen the military alliance between the two countries.”
