FM Cho to attend G20 foreign ministers’ meeting this week

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul will travel to South Africa later this week to attend the foreign ministers’ meeting of the Group of 20 nations, his office said Monday, with attention being drawn to his possible meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Cho will take part in the two-day gathering in Johannesburg, which will run from Thursday, with arrangements being made for bilateral talks with the counterparts of some of the participating countries on the sidelines, a foreign ministry official said. Cho will depart on Tuesday.

At focus will be whether Cho will meet with Wang on the margins of the meeting, as the top Chinese diplomat is also expected to attend the gathering.

If realized, it will mark the first such talks between the two ministers since the political crisis in South Korea triggered by now-impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law attempt.

It will also follow Cho’s talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and their trilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya in Germany last week.

The likelihood of Cho meeting Wang may be low, amid speculation that Wang could visit South Korea before or after going to Japan for the upcoming trilateral meeting with Cho and Iwaya in Tokyo next month, diplomatic sources said.