ISTANBUL

A verbal duel has ensued between Beijing and Seoul after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol likened the Taiwan issue to the North Korea question.

Wang Wenbin, spokesman of China’s Foreign Ministry, said Thursday: “There is but one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory.

“The issue of the Korean Peninsula and the Taiwan question are completely different in nature, cause and history, and cannot be mentioned in the same breath. This is a universally known fact,” Wang told reporters in Beijing.

A day earlier, Yoon said the Taiwan issue “is much like the issue of North Korea and a global one.”

The South Korean president also said the tensions over Taiwan “have been intensifying because of the attempts to change the status quo by force and that he stands by the international community opposing such a change.”

Beijing rejected the claim and Wang said: “The Taiwan question is purely an internal affair at the core of China’s core interests.”

China considers Taiwan as its “breakaway province,” while the island nation of around 24 million people has insisted on its independence since 1949.

Blaming “Taiwan independence separatists” for cross-Taiwan Strait tensions, Wang said “independence” of the island nation and “peace and stability are as irreconcilable as fire and water.”

“This is a universally known fact. We hope the South Korea will follow the spirit of the China-South Korea Joint Communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations, stay committed to the one-China principle, and prudently handle matters related to the Taiwan question,” he added.

In Seoul, the South Korean Foreign Ministry strongly condemned Beijing for “committing a serious diplomatic discourtesy,” according to Yonhap News.

Seoul said the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman’s comments were “unspeakable,” as it quoted Wang calling Yoon’s comments on Taiwan “as a verbal meddling by others.”

“In response to our leader’s mention of the universal principle that we oppose the change of the status quo by force, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson made an unspeakable statement,” said the South Korean Foreign Ministry.

“The spokesperson’s remarks must be pointed out as a serious diplomatic discourtesy that calls into question China’s national integrity,” Seoul said.

The resolution of the Taiwan issue was “a matter for the Chinese, who do not need to be told what should or should not be done,” Wang also said.

“The tensions in recent years in the Taiwan Strait are fundamentally caused by ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists in Taiwan who are engaged in separatist activities with the support and connivance of foreign forces.

“To keep the Taiwan Strait and the rest of the region peaceful and stable, it is essential to unequivocally oppose ‘Taiwan independence’ and foreign interference,” said the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman.