China ‘willing to keep in touch’ with South Korea on first phone call between top diplomats Wang Yi, Cho Tae-yul

Introductory phone call with China’s Wang Yi yet to take place nearly three weeks after Cho Tae-yul became South Korean foreign minister

Delay seen as unusual despite lack of set time frame, as bilateral ties remain fraught over Seoul’s US alignment, Taiwan stance and North Korea

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South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul takes the oath of office in Seoul on January 12. Photo: dpa

Published: 7:45pm, 1 Feb 2024Updated: 9:06pm, 1 Feb 2024

The top diplomats of China and South Korea have yet to hold their traditional introductory phone call, nearly three weeks since Cho Tae-yul took over as foreign minister in Seoul.

Beijing has said it is “willing to keep in touch” on the matter with South Korea.

“After Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul took office, Foreign Minister Wang Yi sent him a congratulatory message,” the Chinese foreign ministry said upon being asked when a phone call might take place.

“China is willing to keep in touch with the ROK on the plans of future exchanges between the two foreign ministers,” ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, using the acronym for South Korea’s official name – the Republic of Korea.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right) with former South Korean counterpart Park Jin in Jakarta last year. Photo: AFP

Cho, a former UN ambassador, was sworn in as South Korean foreign minister on January 12, and has already held phone calls with his US, Japanese and Australian counterparts.

Earlier this week, South Korean news agency News 1 cited a diplomatic source in a report that said Seoul was looking to schedule a Cho-Wang call at a mutually convenient time.