North Korea denounces South Korean top diplomat's visit to China as 'begging diplomacy'

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, left, shakes hands with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi ahead of their bilateral talks in Beijing, May 13. Yonhap

North Korea on Thursday slammed South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul's visit to China earlier this week, deriding his call for Beijing to play a constructive role for peace on the Korean Peninsula as "begging diplomacy," state media reported.

Pak Myong Ho, vice minister for Chinese affairs at the North's foreign ministry, issued the criticism over Cho's remarks made during his talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Monday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

During the meeting, Cho asked for China's "constructive" role as a permanent U.N. Security Council member to promote peace and security on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of North Korea's continued weapons tests this year.

"No matter how earnestly the diplomats of the ROK order someone a constructive role through soliciting and begging diplomacy ... we will never give up our sovereign rights crucial to our lives," Pak said in an English-language statement carried by the KCNA.

ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, the South's official name.

Pak accused the United States and South Korea of raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula by staging "war drills of aggressive nature."

"The regional situation can never see restored stability as long as there exist the U.S. and the ROK kowtowing to it, the evil source and root cause of instability on the Korean peninsula," he said.

South Korea decried the North's criticism as being "not even worth considering."

"We think that North Korea's claims are not even worth considering," Lee Joo-il, deputy foreign ministry spokesperson, said in a briefing.

"Our government plans to continue to seek constructive cooperation with China to resolve the Korean Peninsula issues, which is of mutual interest for both countries," he said.

The North has long denounced the allies' military drills as preparations for an invasion against it, although they said such exercises are defensive in nature.

Cho's latest trip marked the first such visit to the Chinese capital by a South Korean foreign minister in more than six years.

Seoul is seeking to manage its relationship with Beijing that has cooled amid the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's close alignment with the United States. (Yonhap)