South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung is set to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping as he seeks to reset frayed ties with his country's biggest trading partner. Regional security and Beijing's unofficial ban on Korean pop culture are also on the agenda for Monday's meeting, which is their second summit since November, when Xi visited South Korea.

As South Korean President Lee began a state visit to China on Saturday, major Japanese media outlets closely tracked Beijing's efforts to ties.

It underscores a wider strategic calculus by Beijing, which is shaped by tensions with Japan and the US. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has begun his visit to China as Beijing aims to strengthen ties amid heightened tensions with Japan over Taiwan.

Lee became president last year after the impeachment of his conservative successor Yoon Suk Yeol, who tried to shut down the legislature and seize emergency powers in a six-hour coup. Lee was elected on a promise to rebalance South Korea’s foreign policy by engaging with China and to attempt to restart dialogue with North Korea.

The projectiles, launched off the North Korean east coast, are believed to have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

The author, a frequent contributor to the Herald and a world traveler, recently went on a 24-day tour of Japan and South Korea.

China has banned exports of some rare earth elements and other items to Japan that could be used for military purposes, straining already tense relations between the two countries following the Japanese prime minister’s recent remarks on Taiwan.