Weseongshak: "Strong Objection Raised with China over 'Two Countries' Expression Following Wang Yi's Visit"

"Conveyed That the Phrase Does Not Align With the South Korean Government's Position"

It has been confirmed that the South Korean government raised concerns with China after the Chinese delegation, following their visit to South Korea last month, referred to North and South Korea as "two countries" (兩個國家) in an official Chinese statement summarizing the outcome of the visit.

National Security Advisor Seong-Rak Wi shakes hands with Wang Yi, Director of the CPC Central Foreign Affairs Office and Foreign Minister of China, ahead of their talks during Wang's visit to South Korea on August 20, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to the Blue House on September 3, National Security Advisor Seong-Rak Wi explained, "Afterward, we sternly protested to the Chinese side because the phrase 'two countries' appeared in their statement, which differs from our perspective." He continued, "According to the agreement reached when South Korea and China established diplomatic relations, China supports our unification. Referring to us as two countries moves us further from unification, and therefore, it contradicts our stance."

Wi further stated, "We conveyed that this is misleading and not in line with our position, and we asked that language that could cause misunderstandings should not be used." He clarified that the issue of 'two countries' was not raised during his meeting with Minister Wang, but noted that similar topics had been mentioned during other consultations.

Wang Yi, Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party and Foreign Minister, visited South Korea on August 19 and held talks with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun. Following the meeting, the Chinese side issued a press release quoting Wang as saying he was optimistic that "the two countries, South Korea and Joseon (North Korea), will gradually move toward peaceful coexistence, ultimately realizing the long-term and stable peace of the peninsula."

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