China to allow Koreans to enter 'visa-free' for the first time..."You can do it for up to 15 days".

[Anchor]
China announced that it will add nine countries, including South Korea, to its visa-free pilot policy from the 8th.

As a result, from the 8th, China does not have to receive a visa if it visits within 15 days.

Reporter Kim Ji-young reports.

[Reporter]
A total of nine countries have announced that China's foreign ministry will implement a visa-free policy from the 8th to the end of next year,

Korea, Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, and Liechtenstein.

Yesterday, Chinese President Xi Jinping first mentioned the expansion of visa-free countries during a meeting with his Slovak counterpart.

[Xi Jinping / Chinese President: Here is to tell you that China has decided to exempt Slovak citizens from visas for 15 days when they enter China]

As a result, from the 8th, people with Korean passports will not have to get a visa if they visit China within 15 days for business, travel, tourism, visit relatives or transfer.

This is the first time China has included South Korea in its visa-free list.

Until now, visa-free stays have been allowed for 72 or 144 hours only if they are transiting in China.

Since November last year, China has expanded the number of countries subject to visa-free pilot policies sequentially.

Currently, 24 countries, including Thailand and Singapore, have mutual visa waiver agreements with China,

There were 20 countries, including France, Germany, and Italy, where China unilaterally implements visa exemptions, and this announcement will increase the number to 29.

However, the United States and Japan, which were included in the list of Chinese group tours along with South Korea in August last year, were not included in the visa-free policy.

I'm Kim Jiyoung of YTN.