Seoul, Beijing hold dialogue in 2+2 format

Officials of the foreign policy and defense agencies of China and South Korea had a meeting in Seoul in the 2+2 format.

Azernews reports that the delegations were headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun from the South Korean side, and by his colleague Sun Weidon from the Chinese side. The meeting, which was attended by Lee Sung-bom, director general of the international policy department of the South Korean Ministry of Defense, and Jan Baochu, deputy director of the international military cooperation office of the Chinese Central Military Council, took place within the framework of efforts to stabilize the relations between the two countries. The statement of the South Korean Foreign Ministry before the meeting states that bilateral relations, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and issues of mutual interest will be discussed at the meeting in the 2+2 format.

It is noteworthy that the Seoul-Beijing security and diplomacy dialogue coincides with the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to North Korea.

"Conducting dialogue in this format is a message to North Korea that China will not support Pyongyang's attempts to create a trilateral bloc with Beijing and Moscow," said Kang Joon-young, a professor of international relations at Hankuk University.

Commentators believe that Seoul is urging China to play a more constructive role in the North Korean issue with the 2+2 format dialogue.

It should be noted that the agreement on the organization of the dialogue in the 2+2 format was reached at the meeting of South Korean President Yun Seok-yol with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang held in May.