SPOTLIGHT 23/06/09 S. Korea warns China envoy over 'nonsensical' remark

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S. Korea warns China envoy over 'nonsensical' remark

Xing Haiming had criticized Seoul's recent diplomatic overtures to long-time ally Washington

Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming (right) covers caskets containing the remains of Chinese soldiers with a Chinese national flag during the handing over ceremony at the Incheon International Airport in Incheon on Sept. 16, 2022. (Photo: AFP)

By AFP, Seoul

Published: June 10, 2023 06:39 AM GMT

South Korea summoned Beijing's ambassador Friday over his comment that Seoul was "wrong to bet against China".

China's ambassador to South Korea, Xing Haiming, on Thursday, criticized Seoul's recent diplomatic overtures to long-time ally Washington.

"With the United States asserting full pressure on China, some are betting that the US will prevail and China will lose. But it is clearly the wrong bet," Xing told the media at a meeting with South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung.

"What I can say for sure is those who bet against China will regret in the future," he said, adding Beijing skeptics were "not understanding the flow of history".

In response, South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin warned the Chinese diplomat that criticizing his host country's policy with "inaccurate facts... is intolerable".

He said the comments amounted to an "act of internal interference", the ministry said in a statement.

Beijing's envoy was summoned for a meeting, during which the vice minister "expressed strong regret on out of diplomatic protocol, nonsensical and provocative behavior", the statement said.

In April, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said that tensions over Taiwan were due to "attempts to change the status quo by force".

The comment resulted in a diplomatic tit-for-tat, with Beijing lodging a protest, which Seoul condemned as a "serious diplomatic discourtesy".