CORNWALL, Britain-- Photos of South Korean President Moon Jae-in sitting down with major global leaders in the Group of Seven (G-7) summit here demonstrated the enhanced international stature of his country.

A key member of the Group of 20 largest economies, South Korea is now on a par with the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan in dealing with such global challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and protectionism, Moon's office said on Sunday.

Moon was invited to the annual G-7 summit for the second consecutive year, which reflects the international community's expectations for Seoul's bigger role and responsibility.

"It means a transition from South Korea's position as a late follower in handling pending global issues to a leading one to take the initiative on an equal footing with the G-7 members," Cheong Wa Dae said.

In fact, South Korea has been lauded for effective coronavirus control and prevention. It is proactive in efforts to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy under the goal of going carbon neutral by 2050.

As a guest in the G-7 summit held in the southwestern British county of Cornwall under the slogan "Build Back Better World" from Friday to Sunday, Moon attended three "expanded" plenary sessions on health, open societies and economy and climate, respectively.

It marked his first participation in the G-7 summit, as last year's meeting was canceled due to the pandemic.

He had group discussions on how to resolve related challenges facing the world, joined by not only the leaders of the G-7 member states but also his Australian, Indian and South African counterparts as well as the chiefs of major international organizations.

He also held a series of bilateral summit talks with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and top representatives from the European Union on the sidelines.

Moon made clear Seoul's commitment to contributing more to global campaigns to resolve pending problems.

The pillar of the approach is its robust alliance with the U.S., which is evolving into a "comprehensive" strategic partnership to cover regional security and various other issues as well.

South Korea's drive to play a bigger role on the global stage in close cooperation with the West, however, presents a tough task to its all-important ties with China. For South Korea, China is its largest trading partner and it has more clout than any other nation over the North Korea issue.

This year's G-7 gathering, in particular, was viewed widely as heralding a full-fledged move to form a broader coalition against an ascendant China.

The G-7 members unveiled an infrastructure plan to help poorer nations to compete with China's Belt and Road initiative, while South Korea is not a signatory to their joint communique summing up the results of their separate discussions held last Friday in advance of the expanded meetings.

Moon's White House summit with President Joe Biden in late May has already sparked speculation on Seoul's possible strategic leaning toward Washington.

A few days ahead of Moon's departure for the G-7 summit, China's top diplomat Wang Yi had phone talks with his South Korean counterpart, Chung Eui-yong, and delivered a thinly veiled warning message.

"The Indo-Pacific strategy proposed by the United States is full of Cold War mentality and stirs up confrontation among different groups, which is not conducive to regional peace, stability and development. China is firmly opposed to it," Wang was quoted as saying by his country's foreign ministry.

As friendly neighbors and strategic partners, China and South Korea "should know well the rights and wrongs, stick to the correct position, abide by political consensus and never be misled," he added.

Tokyo remains lukewarm toward Seoul's overture to resume dialogue to resolve disputes over shared history.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga apparently refused to have formal one-on-one talks with Moon on the sidelines of the G-7 meeting. There was no trilateral summit involving Biden either.

Moon is heading to Austria on Sunday afternoon for a state visit after his three-day stay in Britain.

Source: Yonhap News Agency