South Korea’s Lee visits China as North fires missilesBrenda GohReutersSun, 4 January 2026 3:10PM
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has begun a state visit to China, hoping to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula hours after rival North Korea launched ballistic missiles.
The visit, Lee’s first to China since taking office in June, comes amid heightened global tensions after Pyongyang’s aggressive display, on the heels of the US attack on Venezuela.
Lee is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during the trip for their second meeting in just two months.
Analysts say the unusually short interval between meetings signals China’s keen interest in boosting economic collaboration and tourism as its relations with neighbouring Japan have sunk to the lowest point in years.
Beijing was incensed when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested in November that Tokyo could take military action if Beijing attacked Taiwan.
China claims the democratically governed island as its own – an assertion rejected by Taiwan’s government.
Sunday’s missile launches by North Korea represent “a message to China to deter closer ties with South Korea and to counter China’s stance on denuclearisation”, Seoul Institute for Far Eastern Studies professor Lim Eul-chul said.
Lee arrived in Beijing with a delegation that included more than 200 South Korean business leaders to begin a four-day state visit to China, Chinese state news broadcaster CCTV reported.
China and South Korea are expected to discuss matters such as supply chain investment, the digital economy and cultural exchanges during Lee’s visit, CCTV said.
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