Wrapping up his state visit to China (previewed in our departure coverage), President Lee Jae-myung met Xi Jinping to seek North Korea mediation, toured independence sites in Shanghai, and posted a playful Pororo penguin message urging inter-Korean reconciliation upon return.
Following his departure for the four-day state visit (as covered previously), President Lee Jae-myung held a second summit with President Xi Jinping in Beijing, requesting China's mediation on Korean Peninsula tensions, including North Korea's nuclear program. He highlighted closed communication channels with Pyongyang, zero trust, and prevailing hostility, urging Beijing's help to ease tensions.
Discussions addressed expanding cultural exchanges and China's steel structures in the Yellow Sea's overlapping waters, viewed by Seoul as potential territorial claims; Lee anticipates their removal. He also met Premier Li Qiang and top legislator Zhao Leji to strengthen ties. With a 400-member business delegation, Lee attended a Beijing forum on AI and cultural content cooperation and a Shanghai startup event.
In Shanghai, Lee visited the former Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea headquarters and the site of Yun Bong-gil's 1932 bombing at Lu Xun Park. In a Facebook post, he hailed the act as a challenge to imperialism, crediting it with altering East Asian history, fostering regional solidarity, and positioning Shanghai as a hub for freedom. He pledged to honor forebears' sacrifices through 'peace and co-prosperity' diplomacy amid geopolitical shifts, advocating respect over force and cooperation over confrontation.
Back home, Lee shared New Year's greetings to North Korea on X, stating the peninsula's 'chaos and hostility' would end. He posted a photo of penguins captioned 'Meet up, Ppo-Jae-myung and Ppo-Jong-un,' punning on himself and Kim Jong-un, referencing the joint South-North 'Pororo the Little Penguin' animation as a model for coexistence.
Chinese media emphasized shared anti-Japanese history from Lee's visits, with People's Daily noting unresolved historical issues and Global Times highlighting Japan tensions. Analysts see Beijing leveraging this to strain Seoul-Tokyo ties amid Taiwan concerns. Xi gifted Lee an electric bicycle, ceramics, and fruits; Lee reciprocated with a peace painting and jewelry. South Korea agreed to return Qing Dynasty stone lions held since the 1930s.
