South Korea tells China it wants to normalise ties, Yonhap reports

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Printed Chinese and South Korean flags are seen in this illustration, July 21, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

SEOUL - South Korea is hoping to normalise relations with China that have been strained in recent years, the leader of a high-level delegation from Seoul said during a visit to Beijing on Sunday, Yonhap News Agency reported.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung sent the envoys to his countrys main trading partner as he travels to Washington to meet U.S. President Donald Trump.

Former assembly speaker Park Byeong-seug, the head of the delegation, met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and handed over a letter from Lee to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Diplomatic ties between the two countries have improved since a 2017 dispute over South Koreas deployment of a U.S. missile defence system, which Beijing opposed.

But they exchanged harsh words in 2023 about critical comments on Beijing by South Koreas last president, Yoon Suk Yeol.

Park told Wang Yi on Sunday he hoped the delegation would open the door to normalising South Korea-China relations, which have been strained in recent years, Yonhap said. REUTERS