'Unacceptable': South Korean president's remarks on Taiwan anger China

China's Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong has lodged a complaint with the South Korean ambassador over "erroneous" remarks by the South Korean president about Taiwan, China's foreign ministry said.

In an exclusive interview with Reuters news agency, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said increased tensions around Taiwan were due to attempts to change the status quo by force, and he opposed such a change.

"The Taiwan issue is not simply an issue between China and Taiwan but, like the issue of North Korea, it is a global issue," Yoon said.

Yoon's remarks are "totally unacceptable," Sun said, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement on Sunday.

"The South Korean leader made no mention of the One China principle, but equated the Taiwan issue with the Korean Peninsula issue," Sun said.

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'Not comparable'

"Both North and South Korea are sovereign states that have joined the United Nations. It is a well-known fact that the Korean Peninsula issue and the Taiwan issue are completely different in nature and in latitude and longitude, and are not comparable at all."

China's statement comes ahead of Yoon's state visit to key ally the United States, which Beijing has blamed for arming Taiwan and encouraging pro-independence politicians.

China says democratically ruled Taiwan is part of its own territory, a position Taipei strongly rejects, and demands that countries with which it has ties must adopt its position that Taiwan is Chinese territory.

This prompted South Korea's foreign ministry on Thursday to berate China for its "serious diplomatic discourtesy".

Tensions have escalated in the Taiwan Strait in recent years, with China launching military exercises earlier this month after Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen visited the United States.

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