CHINA-Presidents Could Hold Meeting On G20 Sidelines-Yonhap

(MNI) London-South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reportingearlier today that President Yoon Suk-yeol could hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit taking place in Delhi, India from 9-10 September. The meeting would come at a delicate time in Sino-Korean relations. Beijing warned of 'contradictions and increasing tensions' emanating from the tripartite meeting of the leaders of South Korea, Japan and the US earlier in the month.

• Yonhap: "The two countries' diplomatic authorities are exchanging elementary views" on the possibility of a summit, a senior government official told Yonhap News Agency. A presidential official also said "positive signals" have been detected with regard to the development of South Korea-China relations. Earlier this month, China lifted a ban on group tours to South Korea. The ban had been in place for more than six years amid tension over South Korea's hosting of the THAAD U.S. missile defense system."
• Comes as officials from both sides held the first in-person meeting of RoK-China Joint Economic committee in three years earlier on 29 Aug. KBS: "The two sides shared the view that their countries need to maintain stable supply chains by preventing potential factors that could cause disruptions. To this end, the two officials agreed to boost bilateral cooperation by revitalizing various economic consultative bodies between their countries. They plan to begin by holding director-level talks on economic cooperation within the year to discuss follow-up measures."