Anchor: President Lee Jae Myung has expressed support for the idea of “one China.” While preparing to depart for China on Sunday for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Lee made the statement in an interview with China’s national television broadcaster that aired Friday. He said that Seoul's position of respecting one China remains unchanged.
Kim Bum-soo has more.

Report: President Lee Jae Myung says South Korea respects the idea of “one China.” 

Ahead of his four-day state visit to China, which begins Sunday, Lee held an interview with the Chinese broadcaster CCTV in his office.

[Sound bite: President Lee Jae Myung (Korean-English/CCTV)] 
“I can clearly say that I myself respect one China, and that peace and stability are very important in Northeast Asia and surrounding issues, including cross-strait matters. … When it comes to the Taiwan issue, which is the biggest pending issue for China, there is no change in [South Korea’s] position of respecting one China.”

Under Beijing’s “One China” principle, there is only one sovereign China and Taiwan is part of it.

Lee’s remarks came amid heightened tensions over Taiwan between Washington and Beijing. 

Beijing staged massive military drills around Taiwan this week after Washington announced its plans to provide a large-scale weapons package for Taipei.

But Lee made it clear that Seoul-Washington ties will not necessarily entail confrontations with Beijing, saying South Korea’s strategic autonomy is important.

[Sound bite: President Lee Jae Myung (Korean-English/CCTV)] 
“We cannot avoid cooperation with the United States in terms of security because it’s a military alliance. Also, it is true that economic ties are deepening [with the U.S.]. However, a confrontational or conflicting relationship between South Korea and China would not be in South Korea’s national interests at all.”

Ahead of the upcoming South Korea-China summit, scheduled for Monday, Lee called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “leader with a broad vision.”

The South Korean president said he wants regular meetings with Xi at least once a year.

At the summit, Lee and Xi are expected to talk about how to achieve peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. 

National Security Adviser Wi Sung Lac said Friday that South Korea will also seek progress in discussions about Beijing’s ban on South Korean cultural content and about the Chinese structures installed in the Yellow Sea, where the two countries’ exclusive economic zones overlap.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.