As South Korea's election nears, Lee Jae-myung's approach to U.S.-China relations sparks debate, highlighting the geopolitical stakes of the race.

South Korea’s newly elected President Lee Jae-myung has appointed Yeo Han-koo as the country’s chief trade negotiator amid tariff talks with the US, according to the Yonhap news agency on Tuesday. Yeo Han-koo previously served as trade minister under the Moon Jae-in administration.

Lee Jae-myung will make his international diplomacy debut at the political and economic meeting next week. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

South Koreans will head to the polls in the first week of June to elect a new president, but analysts caution that the incoming leader will quickly face significant international challenges, from both

Lee Jae-myung took office last week after an election campaign in which he had pledged to establish stronger ties with Beijing.

Lee Jae-myung of South Korea's majority liberal Democratic Party was elected as the country's 21st president. Against the backdrop of economic recession, diplomatic imbalance and political polarization,

The new South Korean president, Lee Jae-myung, calls himself a foreign policy “pragmatist”. He says he is driven by South Korea’s national interest, rather than ideology, and has spoken of his desire to improve relations with China and North Korea.

Mr Xi said a healthy, stable China-South Korea relations were conducive to regional and world peace. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Reaffirming the significance of bilateral ties, the two leaders agreed to meet in person to further develop relations.

For a year or so, the two countries engaged in daily standoffs—the North pumping out animal wails and the South blaring boyband music and news.