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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

South Korea tipped to tack to US, putting strategic ambiguity on China behind it

  • Yoon Suk-yeol aims to exert more pressure on China over North Korean threats
  • But experts are sceptical Beijing will move to rein in Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions

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South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol aims to bring more clarity on foreign policy, and exert more pressure on China over North Korea’s military aggression, experts say. Photo: Reuters
Seong Hyeon Choi
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will break away from his predecessor’s “strategic ambiguity” on Washington and Beijing, and tilt further towards the United States as he pressures Beijing to exert greater influence on curbing North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, according to political analysts.

The assessment follows a Reuters interview with Yoon last week in which he said that Beijing, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, should play a greater role in denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

“What is sure is that China has the capability to influence North Korea, and China has the responsibility to engage in the process,” Yoon told Reuters.

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Yoon said Pyongyang’s military activities, such as ongoing missile launches, were fuelling defence spending and the influx of military assets into the region, especially among US allies South Korea and Japan. He also stressed that denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula was in China’s interest.

Yoon drove home the message at the G20 summit in Bali, urging Chinese President Xi Jinping to play a “more active and constructive role” on Pyongyang.

The comments signal a departure from the strategic ambiguity of the administration of former president Moon Jae-in, a strategy aimed at striking a balance between the US, as its military ally, and China, as its strategic economic partner.

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