SOUTH KOREA PERSPECTIVE

Seoul devotes the most attention to the North Korea component of China's diplomatic offensive—logical when 28,500 American soldiers station on your soil facing a million North Korean troops. The Korea Times and Yonhap publish three articles dissecting Wang Yi's Pyongyang visit from every angle. The Korea Times alone cites experts analyzing that the visit "signals coordination ahead of Trump-Xi summit, potentially laying the groundwork for a meeting between Kim Jong-un and Trump." This analysis is explosive: it suggests Beijing uses Pyongyang as negotiating currency in its Washington engagement. Yonhap details the bilateral tie-strengthening agreement, while the Korea Times notes Wang Yi "slammed US pressure" on North Korea during the visit. Seoul calculates that any Beijing-Pyongyang rapprochement strengthens Kim's leverage and weakens Washington's negotiating position—and therefore Seoul's.