The foreign ministry has established two teams of China experts and language specialists under its department handling Chinese affairs in an effort to strengthen diplomacy toward the increasingly important neighbor, an official said Monday.
The China situation analysis team, made up of five experts in Chinese politics, external relations and economy, plans to issue various reports on developments in China, while the China monitoring team comprising seven language specialists will keep an eye on anti-Korean and other public sentiment in China, the official said.
China's importance to South Korea is growing, but Seoul apparently feels limits in its ability to cope with the neighbor becoming more assertive in regional and global issues in tandem with its rising economic influence.
In another effort to enhance its China capabilities, South Korea launched a China research center last month at the foreign ministry-affiliated think tank Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security.
The center is tasked with studying Seoul's policies on China while providing China-related education programs and serving as a hub connecting other local research institutes.
South Korea and China established diplomatic relations in 1992. Since then, the two countries have made strides in their economic and trade relations, with China overtaking the United States as South Korea's No. 1 trade partner.
But their political and security ties have not moved forward enough to match the economic ties.