FM Cho says seeking to hold talks with China's Wang Yi in '1st quarter'

▲ In this file photo taken Jan. 2, 2026, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun delivers a speech at a New Year kick-off ceremony at the foreign ministry in Seoul. (Yonhap)

FM-China

FM Cho says seeking to hold talks with China's Wang Yi in '1st quarter'

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Tuesday he is seeking to meet one-on-one with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi sometime "in the first quarter," talks that would likely focus on making progress in key pending maritime and other issues with Beijing.

Cho indicated the plan while reporting to President Lee Jae Myung during a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, as Seoul seeks to resolve the issues over which the two countries remain apart, including China's steel structures built in the overlapping waters of the Yellow Sea and its unofficial ban on the inflow of Korean pop culture content.

"(We are) trying to have foreign ministers' talks in the first quarter," Cho said at the meeting, when asked by Lee if any progress has been made with Beijing regarding cultural exchanges and cooperation.

"We believe it is getting better," Cho said.

Echoing Cho's remarks about a potential meeting with Wang, the foreign ministry said the top diplomats would broadly discuss all range of issues concerning both countries should the meeting take place.

The talks, if held, would come in the follow-up to the summit talks between Lee and Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month, when Lee paid a state visit to Beijing. Lee said after his meeting with Xi that China is expected to remove one of the three steel platforms from the Yellow Sea.

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