South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s administration released the latest “National Security Strategy’ since the Moon Jae-in government in 2018 on June 7th, 2023. The strategic national security document states that intensifying competition between the U.S. and China has become one of South Korea’s major security challenges. In regard to China, South Korea should “cultivate a healthier and more mature relationship built on mutual respect and reciprocity.” However, the U.S., Japan and South Korea recently continued to promote real-time sharing of early-warning data on North Korea’s missile launches, agreed to strengthen trilateral security cooperation mechanism and conducted missile defense exercises with various countries. As a result, relationship between China and South Korea at senior diplomatic levels is worsening amid precarious situation on the Korean Peninsula.
China in the meantime creates an atmosphere of promoting the improvement of China-South Korea relationship and holding the Korea-China-Japan summit while launching tit-for-tat propaganda campaigns both targeting audience in China and the international community. These demonstrate the duality of China’s tit-for-tat struggles against its enemies. All methods, whether they are the most coercive or appear to be the most moderate, can be used provided that they contribute to China’s goals. In other words, diplomatic struggles against South Korea are obviously an organic unification of opposing positions of political romanticism (encouraging peace and dialogue) and political realism (competition between powers).
Yoon Suk-yeol went to the U.S. for a state visit from April 24th to 30th and held talks with the U.S. President Joe Biden. The two sides released the Washington Declaration and Joint Statement, agreeing to upgrade extended deterrence provided by the U.S. to South Korea, strengthen deployment of U.S. strategic assets on and around the Korean Peninsula, expand South Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral cooperation and pursue cooperation in advanced technologies.
After Yoon’s visit to the U.S., Li Jiacheng, an associate professor at Liaoning University's School of International Studies, published an article titled “The Appalling Diplomacy of the Yoon Suk-yeol Administration” on Cfisnet.com on May 18th. The article criticized that the Yoon government lacks diplomatic concepts and skills, panders to the U.S. without a bottom line, seeks a humiliating peace with Japan, stirs up trouble in the Ukraine issue and holds a candle to the devil in the Taiwan issue. Li said that South Korea under Yoon does not hesitate to damage the relationship between South and North Korea to a point beyond repair and seems to burn all the bridges behind it. Li’s article also claimed that Yoon Suk-yeol and his government’s inability to solve diplomatic problems and the scandal of Yoon’s wife Kim Keon-hee during the presidential campaign are becoming a lingering liability for South Korea’s foreign policy. Consequently Yoon’s image as a crusader for justice has been questioned, affecting the reputation of his People Power Party.
At Chinese Foreign Ministry’s regular press conference on May 23rd, Shanghai’s state media Dragon TV asked that “if bilateral pending issues are actively discussed, wouldn’t it be possible to talk about the Korea-China-Japan summit at an appropriate time?...they are in “the process of sending people to each other and communicating on pending issues.” Spokesperson Mao Ning responded that “I noted relevant reports and comments from the media. I need to stress that the ROK needs to have an in-depth understanding of where the problems lie in China-ROK relations and treat them seriously.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbing also said on June 6th that the Washington Declaration and extended deterrence are creating “blocs to exert pressure…These practices are the result of a Cold War mentality. They will only exacerbate tensions and fuel escalations in the region”.
The above observation of recent Chinese Foreign Ministry’s regular press conference shows that its spokespersons have repeatedly expressed a narrative different from China’s past position of advocating maintaining peace and stability and solving problems through dialogue on the Korean Peninsula. Besides conveying China’s strategic understanding and political assessment of relevant situations to the international community, the spokespersons also used diplomatic rhetoric to describe tactical issues regarding senior-level exchanges between the two sides.
China’s state media meanwhile launches public opinion warfare regarding competition between powers in Northeast Asia. The warfare not only targets the South Korean government but also tries to influence public opinion in South Korea, including smearing the First Lady Kim Keon-hee and using opposition voices to criticize the Yoon administration. China’s state media and foreign policy community have tactically created an atmosphere of promoting the improvement of China-South Korea relationship and holding the Korea-China-Japan summit. But they in fact are alternately using struggles against the enemy and a continuation of public opinion campaigns in the international community. They will even influence future exchanges between Chinese and South Korean senior officials. Subsequent development has become an issue of concern.
(Chiu-lung Huang, Adjunct Associate Professor of Department of Public Security of the Central Police University)
(Translated to English by Cindy Li)