Lee Jae-myung turns to China to ease North Korea tensions, but will Beijing take sides?

Newly elected South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has signalled a desire to ease tensions with North Korea, halting propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts along the border – and turning to China for support.

In a 30-minute phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, six days after taking office, Lee urged China to play a “constructive role” in the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Xi responded that China would make efforts to resolve the issue, saying that peace and stability on the peninsula were in the common interest of both countries, according to South Korean presidential spokeswoman Kang Yu-jung.

However, a Chinese foreign ministry statement did not refer to that part of the phone conversation or to denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Analysts said the omission reflected China’s consistent stance in favour of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula while refraining from putting public pressure on North Korea.

They also suggested that while Beijing would avoid openly taking sides when engaging with Seoul, it would calibrate its involvement in the denuclearisation issue based on two factors: South Korea’s approach to China and the potential for renewed US-North Korea dialogue.