Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a briefing that Beijing protested South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol’s remarks in an interview with Reuters, where he stated his opposition to any attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait by force. Wang said that Beijing “will not allow outsiders to meddle” in the Taiwan issue, indicating that Seoul has no say in the Taiwan issue.

Comparing the magnitude of a potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait to the North Korean threat, Yoon said during the interview, “The Taiwan issue is not simply an issue between China and Taiwan but, like the issue of North Korea, it is a global issue.” Wang rejected the comparison saying that the ROK and DPRK are sovereign nations that have joined the U.N. while Taiwan is not.