President Moon Jae-in will arrive in Beijing Wednesday on a four-day state visit that will include his third summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Despite Seoul’s repeated statements about improving bilateral relations, a full thaw in relations before Seoul’s decision to deploy a US anti-missile system appears some way off. 

On Tuesday, Seoul’s presidential office revealed the results of Thursday’s summit meeting will be announced in separate statements to the press, recanting from the previous day’s briefing. On Monday, a high-level Cheong Wa Dae official had told media a joint press release was to be distributed after the summit meeting.

According to a Cheong Wa Dae official, although the two sides will fine-tune the statement together, the press releases will be given separately, hinting at discord remaining in Seoul-Beijing relations.

In an interview with China’s state-run CCTV on Monday, Moon himself said trust between the two nations has been damaged in recent years.

“The top priority of my visit to China is placed on recovering mutual trust,” he said.

“I think relations based on mutual trust are a very important starting point for advancing relations going forward.”
 

Moon also reiterated his position on the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, saying its placement in South Korea is unavoidable in light of the growing threat posed by North Korea, and that the system would not damage China’s security interests.

“South Korea will pay extra attention to ensuring that THAAD does not go beyond the objective of defending against the North‘s nuclear and missile threats and hurt China’s security interests,” he said.

“I can say that we have been assured by the United States on this matter.”

In the interview, Moon also highlighted the importance of the role Beijing has in resolving North Korean nuclear and missile issues.

“I think what is most needed is close cooperation between South Korea and China,” Moon said, going on to say the two countries could bring Pyongyang back to negotiations.

Aside from trying to hammer out kinks in bilateral relations, Moon will dedicate a significant portion of his trip to business-related areas.

On the first day of his trip, Moon will attend a roundtable discussion with South Korean and Chinese business leaders, and give a speech at a business forum.

Before the summit meeting on Thursday, the South Korean leader will attend a trade event, and wrap up his stay in China on Saturday with a visit to Hyundai Motor’s plant in Chongqing, southwest China.

On Friday, Moon will meet with Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People‘s Congress Zhang Dejiang and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, after giving a speech at Peking University.

Moon will then move on to Chongqing where he will visit the site of the provisional government of Korea during the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula and meet with Chen Min’er, secretary of the Communist Party of China for the city.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)