(Beijing = Yonhap News) Correspondent Jeong Seong-jo = The Chinese Communist Party's Central Foreign Affairs Office director and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who visited Korea, described North and South Korea as "two countries," which raised the interpretation that China has recently accepted North Korea's "two hostile nations theory."
However, in the world of diplomacy, there is an analysis that it is difficult to conclude that Director Wang's comments came from the level of sharing critical awareness regarding Korea's policy of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on the 19th.
In a press release, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "Director Wang took questions and introduced his views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula" and "explained China's consistent principled position."
According to a Chinese press release, Director Wang said, "As a responsible great power, China maintains continuity and stability in its foreign policy, and is striving to play a constructive role for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. I am optimistic that the two countries, South Korea and North Korea, will gradually move toward peaceful coexistence and ultimately realize long-term and sustainable stability on the peninsula."
As Director Wang's mention of 'two countries' became known, some raised concerns that China was implying that it was accepting North Korea's hostile theory of two countries.
At the Workers' Party plenary meeting in late December 2023, North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un declared inter-Korean relations as 'two hostile countries' and abolished the concept of nation and unification. It is claimed that China, which had not expressed any particular position, accepted this as the expression 'two countries'.
However, some diplomats say that China's mention of 'two countries' is not something new.
A diplomatic source said on the 20th, "I see it as not a new expression," and "If you look at the overall context (Director Wang), he did not make the comment with the intention of separating North and South Korea, but he made the comment in the context of mentioning peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the development of inter-Korean bilateral relations."
Professor Emeritus Lee Hee-ok of Sungkyunkwan University also said in a phone call with Yonhap News that day, "It is difficult to say that China has accepted North Korea's two hostile nation theory," and added, "Director Wang's remarks can be seen as a shared awareness of the problem of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula."
Professor Lee explained, "The Ministry of Unification is also using the concept of 'two peaceful states' with a focus on unification, and the policy of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula also effectively recognizes North Korea's statehood." He added, "North and South Korea have already joined the United Nations simultaneously, and South Korea's policy toward North Korea since the 1991 Inter-Korean Basic Agreement is in fact a coexistence policy based on the North-South alliance."
There is also an interpretation that this is a Chinese take on the 'peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula' mentioned by President Lee Jae-myung in his Liberation Day speech.
In the past, the Chinese government mainly referred to North and South Korea as 'two countries', and many related cases can be found in past records.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a regular briefing on January 2, 2018, "We noted positive information such as the leaders of both North Korea and South Korea improving mutual relations and North Korea's participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, which is a good thing."
In addition, a statement in the name of the spokesperson in April 2023 said, “Both North Korea and South Korea are sovereign countries that have already joined the United Nations.”
Going back further, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a document explaining the results of then-Premier Li Keqiang's visit to North Korea in 2011, "Both Korea and Korea highly valued the important and positive role that China has played in protecting peace and stability on the peninsula."
There are many cases in which state-run media, including Xinhua News Agency, used the expression ‘two countries under the same alliance.’
