"I communicated with the President during the decision-making process for my visit to China... I don't know if I'll have the opportunity to meet him."
(Seoul·Incheon=Yonhap News) Reporters Kim Nam-kwon, Kim Young-shin, and Oh Gyu-jin = National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik said on the 2nd regarding the possibility of meeting with North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un at China's Victory Day military parade,"If we meet, we will discuss the issue of peace on the Korean Peninsula."
Chairman Woo, who is effectively the government representative, said this in response to reporters' questions while leaving the country through Incheon International Airport on the afternoon of the same day, a day before the military parade, saying,"I'm not sure if there will be such an opportunity (to meet), and I'll have to go there to find out."
When asked what message he would give Chairman Kim if he met him, he said,"I plan to talk about ways to expand peace on the Korean Peninsula."
When asked if he would convey President Lee Jae-myung's message to Chairman Kim if the meeting were to take place, he said,"The Speaker of the National Assembly is not a special envoy (of the government)," but added,"There was communication with the Blue House during the decision-making process for this visit to China, and it will be decided through that process of communication."
He explained the significance of this visit to China, saying,"This is a special year for our country to commemorate the 80th anniversary of liberation, and for China to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan. Sharing this history is the root of the bond between our two countries. In that sense, I am going there to congratulate them."
Chairman Woo mentioned his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in February of this year and the phone conversation between President Lee and President Xi in June of this year, saying,"I accepted this invitation with the thought that continuing high-level exchanges between the two countries would be helpful for the development of Korea-China relations."
In particular, he emphasized,"This year is the year when important exchanges between Korea and China, such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, begin and develop, so it is in the national interest to make good use of this opportunity to develop exchanges," and "In particular, we must build good Korea-China relations in the midst of the changing world order and environment."
He also stated,"We hope to use this as an opportunity to convey the interests of our companies operating in China to China and expand the environment and foundation for their activities there."
Chairman Wu plans to ask President Xi to attend the Gyeongju APEC Summit and also ask the Chinese government to pay attention to preserving historical sites of the independence movement in China.
In addition to attending the Victory Day celebration during his visit to China, he is scheduled to meet with high-ranking officials of the National People's Congress (equivalent to the National Assembly) and the State Council and return home on the 5th.
Speaker Woo's visit to China was accompanied by Democratic Party lawmakers Park Ji-won, Kim Tae-nyeon, Park Jeong, and Hong Ki-won, as well as the Democratic Party of Korea's Kim Jun-hyung.
