ROK should work for 'healthy' ties

Foreign Ministry also urges US to block Taiwan leader's transit in Hawaii, Guam

The Republic of Korea should work with China to return bilateral ties to healthy development, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Friday, when requested to comment on reports that ROK President Moon Jae-in has proposed to meet with President Xi Jinping.

Geng told a daily news conference in Beijing he had no news to release about meetings between the two leaders. "We hope China and the ROK will work together and push bilateral ties back to the track of healthy and stable development as soon as possible," Geng said.

Moon was among the leaders of political parties or countries that sent messages congratulating Xi on his re-election as general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Moon expressed in the congratulatory letter his hope to meet with Xi in the near future, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Xi and Moon met for the first time in Germany in July.

Ties between the two countries hit obstacles as the ROK decided last year to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. China has repeatedly voiced its opposition to the deployment, which damaged China's strategic security interests and undermined the regional strategic balance.

Also at Friday's news conference, Geng urged the United States not to allow Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen to transit through the US. Tsai is scheduled to transit through Hawaii and Guam during a visit to Pacific countries starting Saturday.

"The one-China principle is the general consensus among the international community. It is also the principle that we have always been sticking to when dealing with Taiwan's foreign exchanges," the spokesman said.

Tsai's "true purpose behind her so-called 'transit' is self-evident", Geng said.

"We hope the US will observe the one-China policy and the principles of the three joint communiques between China and the US, not allow her 'transit', and not send any wrong signals to the 'Taiwan independence' forces," the spokesman said, asking the US to take concrete measures to maintain the general situation of China-US ties as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.

China has lodged "solemn representations" to the US about the issue, Geng said.