SEOUL, Aug. 20 -- South Korea's new government spent most of this year signaling that it wanted better relations with Beijing. On Wednesday, China made clear what it wants in return.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, wrapping up a two-day visit to Seoul, delivered the same message to South Korean officials at every level - the foreign minister, the top national security adviser, and President Lee Jae Myung: that stability on the Korean Peninsula required Washington to change course, not just diplomatic goodwill between Beijing and Seoul.

"The fundamental way to ease tensions is to address the root causes," Wang told presidential national security adviser Wi Sung-lac, according to CGTN. What that meant, he spelled out without ambiguity: ...