South Korea and China plan to hold a series of high-level talks on security and other areas later this year as the neighbors gear up for closer ties, diplomatic sources here said Wednesday.
The planned talks include a high-level diplomacy-security dialogue to be held in China and attended by South Korean National Security Adviser Kim Kwan-jin and his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, the sources said.
The two nations held the first meeting of their state security advisers in Seoul in November last year.
“Both sides share their hopes to hold the talks within this year, but they need to fine-tune details of the schedule,” one of the sources noted.
North Korean issues, including Pyongyang’s much-denounced nuclear arms, are expected to top the agenda for the upcoming meeting.
Also expected for this year are high-ranking strategic talks between South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong and his counterpart, Zhang Yesui, according to the sources.
International issues as well as regional and bilateral interest may be the main topics of discussion when they possibly meet later this year,
The two nations are also planning on Nov. 20 the second meeting of their joint culture exchange committee, launched in November last year, the sources added.
Vice Foreign Minister Cho and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin may discuss bilateral exchange programs in the fields of youth, academy and traditional culture in the northwestern Chinese city of Xian, they added.
The series of high-level dialogues are part of the neighbors’ moves to step up bilateral ties.
President Park Geun-hye held her fifth summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an annual summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in Beijing this week, declaring the effective conclusion of a bilateral free trade agreement. (Yonhap)
