Ahead of his state visit to China, President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Lee Jae Myung granted an exclusive interview to China Media Group (CMG) Wednesday at the Blue House, his first since returning to the historic presidential office and residence, a move underscoring the high importance Seoul attaches to ties with Beijing.
At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Lee will pay the state visit to China from Jan 4 to 7, his first tour to China since he took office in June 2025.
Lee moved the presidential office back to the country's traditional Blue House compound on Dec 29 after a hiatus of three years and seven months, departing from the defense ministry complex where his predecessor Yoon Suk-yeol had set up his office.
"This is the very first interview I have done since moving to Cheong Wa Dae (the Blue House) -- not just with a foreign media outlet, but also including the ROK ones. I hope this is understood as an indication of how highly we value our relationship with China. Relocating the presidential flag and the Office of the President, it conveyed the message that we are going back to normal following a somewhat abnormal state of affairs," he said.
Since 1948, Cheong Wa Dae has served as both the official residence and office for almost every ROK president. However, after taking office in May 2022, former President Yoon Suk-yeol relocated the presidential office to a newly established compound at the former Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan, opening the Blue House to the public.
Lee, who won a snap presidential election in June 2025 following Yoon's removal over a brief declaration of martial law in December 2024, spent weeks relocating the presidential office back to Cheong Wa Dae, where the Phoenix Flag, a symbol of the ROK head of state, was raised at the Blue House.
ROK highly values relations with China: president
The United States cannot legitimize an operation that attacked Venezuela and captured its president, a Chinese scholar said Sunday.
On Saturday, the United States launched a large-scale strike on Venezuela, during which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were 'captured and flown out of Venezuela' according to a post by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account.
Teng Jianqun, director of the Center for Diplomatic Studies at Hunan Normal University, said in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) that the aim of this operation is to take full control of Venezuela’s natural resources.
"I don't think the United States can legitimize this operation to take custody of the president of Venezuela. And also I don't think the United States can legitimize its any action in taking the oil reserves of that country. This is actually a very dangerous game played by the Trump administration. And of course, the United States would like to take full control of that country and to take full control of the natural resources, especially the large reserve of oil in Venezuela," said Teng.
Teng said Venezuela is not an isolated case but a common practice by the United States. The United States launched an invasion of Panama on Dec. 20, 1989, which continued until January 1990, with the stated objective of capturing Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega on charges of drug trafficking and organized crime.
"We still remember the so-called sentence of the former president of Panama in the late 1980s. And this time, the president of Venezuela will be under some judicial condition (judicial proceedings) for the so-called drug trafficking and some other crimes. So I think this is not a single case for the Venezuela country, but also this is actually a practice by the United States -- to use force, to use so-called justice under law against any leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean waters," he said.
US cannot legitimize operation against Venezuela: Chinese scholar
