China says to appoint ‘appropriate’ person as its next ambassador to S. Korea: Seoul official

China has said it will appoint an "appropriate" and "excellent" person as the next top envoy to Seoul, as South Korea is an important country for Beijing, an official at the foreign ministry said Thursday. The Seoul official cited the remarks made by the Chinese side during high-level strategic talks between the vice foreign ministers of the two countries on Wednesday, as Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming left the post earlier this month. Xing came under fire over his negative comments about the Yoon Suk Yeol government's foreign policy. The Chinese envoy said in June last year that "those who bet" on China's defeat in its rivalry with the U.S. "will definitely regret it. At Wednesday's talks, the government emphasized that the role of a new Chinese envoy is important during the "crucial time of frequent and close communication between South Korea and China," the Seoul official told reporters on condition of anonymity. In response, the Chinese side said that Beijing will "appoint an appropria te and excellent candidate through internal procedures," as it recognizes South Korea as an important country. But a Chinese official refrained from commenting on further details, such as whether Xing's successor has been tapped, the Seoul official said. On Wednesday, First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun met with his Chinese counterpart, Ma Zhaoxu, in Seoul, marking the first such high-level talks since December 2021. The talks came amid growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia following Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip to Pyongyang last month for summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Next week, South Korea and China will hold a director-general level of talks on economic cooperation in Beijing. Source: Yonhap News Agency