South Korea to resume issuing short-term visas for Chinese travelers

South Korea will resume issuing short-term visas for travelers from China on Saturday, the country's ministry of health and welfare said on Friday.

Meanwhile, China will actively consider resuming the facilitation of visas for South Korean nationals, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular briefing on Friday.

South Korea suspended issuing short-term visas to Chinese visitors last month. China responded with similar moves on January 10.

Travelers from China currently must provide a negative COVID-19 test report within 48 hours, and do a PCR test upon arrival, with those positive sent to a designated facility for a seven-day quarantine.

Kim Sung-ho, South Korea's vice interior minister in charge of disaster and safety management, said the government had decided to restart the visa issuance after the number of infections among Chinese arrivals dropped significantly, and new strains of the virus have not emerged.

No new mutant strains of the virus that are significantly more transmissible, pathogenic and immune-evasive have been detected in China since the start of this year, according to a Chinese health expert on Thursday.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao said the lifting of visa restrictions is "a step in the right direction."

"China will actively consider the resumption of short-term visas for South Korean citizens on a reciprocal basis. We hope that the Republic of Korea will work with China to create more convenience for the normal flow of people between the two sides," she said at the briefing.