By Jeon Han and Sohn JiAe

President Moon Jae-in, currently on a state visit to China, met with about 400 ethnic Koreans residing in Beijing as the first item on his official itinerary, at the Sofitel Wanda Beijing Hotel on Dec. 13.

The state visit is being made to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Seoul and Beijing.

At the meeting, President Moon said that, “With this state visit, both countries are now embarking on a new journey in terms of bilateral relations. It’s a journey to increase mutual interest between the two nations and the quality of life for the two peoples.”

The president mentioned the normalization of bilateral ties that was officially agreed upon by the two leaders at a summit on Nov. 11, saying that, “Just as after the rain comes fair weather, my state visit will hopefully help to bring back trust to our bilateral relationship and usher in a new era of ties.”

“Today marks the 80th Memorial Day of the Nanjing Massacre. Koreans share the pain of history through which the Chinese people have gone. The Korean people and I mourn deeply for the massacred victims and offer sincere words of comfort to those who suffered,” said President Moon.

On a more cheerful note, to share the passion of next year’s PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games with those in attendance, President Moon then took part in a ceremony to pass on the Olympic torch.

hanjeon@korea.kr