South Korea’s President Lee Seeks China’s Support in Engagement with North Korea
President Lee Jae-myung of South Korea invited President Xi Jinping of China to support renewed engagement with North Korea during their summit in Gyeongju on 1 November 2025. The meeting, held on the sidelines of the APEC 2025 Leaders’ Meeting, marked Xi’s first visit to South Korea in more than a decade.
Lee told Xi that favourable conditions may now be forming for Pyongyang to resume dialogue and proposed that China — as North Korea’s major ally — play a constructive role in opening channels of communication.
Xi emphasised deepened cooperation with Seoul across multiple fronts: economic exchanges, innovation, artificial intelligence, and demographic policy. During the visit, the two countries signed seven agreements — including a won-yuan currency swap and memorandums for online crime prevention and ageing-population businesses.
However, the outlook for inter-Korean dialogue remains uncertain. North Korea responded to Seoul’s overtures by dismissing denuclearisation talk as an unattainable “pipe dream,” maintaining its refusal to engage directly with South Korea while leaving open the possibility of talks with the United States.
On a domestic front, Lee faces pressure as hundreds of protesters in Seoul voiced anti-China sentiment during Xi’s visit — a reflection of public discomfort over China’s perceived influence on South Korea’s foreign policy.
In summary, the Lee-Xi summit represents a strategic pivot: Seoul is balancing its security alliance with Washington while reaching out to Beijing to stabilise the Korean peninsula. The challenge ahead lies in translating diplomatic goodwill into tangible progress with North Korea — a country that remains steadfast in its stance.
