1. During her visit to Bangkok for the 2019 ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha met with State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi on the morning of August 1, during which the two sides exchanged in-depth views on matters of mutual interest, including the Republic of Korea (ROK)-China relations as well as the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in the region.

2. Minister Kang and State Councilor Wang, recalling that at the ROK-China summit held on the occasion of the G20 Summit in June, the two Presidents had agreed to step up bilateral exchanges and cooperation in a bid to advance the bilateral relations to a higher level, agreed to double their efforts in that regard.  

° To that end, the two sides agreed to further vitalize high-level exchanges and accelerate substantive cooperation, including holding follow-up negotiations on an ROK-China FTA, responding to the fine dust issue and carrying out people-to-people exchange projects. 
 
3. Minister Kang and State Councilor Wang shared assessments of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, including the recent launches of short-range ballistic missiles by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and discussed the direction for the ROK-China cooperation. 
 
° Minister Kang voiced strong concern over the fact that the recent missile launches by the DPRK could have negative impact on the efforts to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula; and stressed that it is the time for the international community, including China, to play a role so as not to lose the momentum of dialogue that has been resumed by the meetings among the leaders of the ROK, the DPRK and the United States (U.S.) as well as between those of the U.S. and the DPRK held at Panmunjeom on June 30.

° State Councilor Wang, mentioning that uncertainty in the situation on the Korean Peninsula has lately been growing, suggested that the ROK and China maintain close communication and cooperation in order to create conditions for an early resumption of U.S.- DPRK dialogue. 
 

4. The foreign ministerial meeting, which took place about a month after the ROK-China summit had been held on the occasion of the G20 Summit in June, is seen to have served as an opportunity to maintain the momentum of active high-level exchanges and step up close communication between the two countries regarding the situation on the Korean Peninsula and in the region.