China state visit by South Korea’s Lee will ‘push denuclearisation, end to culture ban’

President Lee Jae-myung of South Korea will seek Beijing’s support on denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and press to lift an unofficial cultural content ban when he travels to China for a state visit next week, according to Seoul.

Lee’s four-day trip from Sunday will make him the first sitting South Korean president to visit China since 2019.

Lee will first travel to Beijing, where he is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday afternoon, their second summit in two months. They last met in South Korea on November 1, on the sidelines of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

In Beijing, they were expected to discuss regional peace and denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, South Korean national security adviser Wi Sung-lac said on Friday.

Seoul planned to deepen strategic ties with Beijing and hoped that a “full normalisation” of bilateral relations would provide a “breakthrough for Korean issues”, Wi was quoted as saying by Yonhap. He also urged China to take a “constructive role” in these diplomatic efforts, the South Korean news agency reported.

The Korean peninsula has faced heightened tensions in recent years, driven by North Korea’s escalation of its nuclear and missile programmes alongside closer ties with Russia.

South China Morning Post