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| South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, upper center and bottom right, speaks from Seoul during a video call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in this photo provided by the foreign ministry, May 16. Yonhap |
The top diplomats of South Korea and China held video talks Monday and discussed ways to cooperate on antivirus efforts for North Korea and stably manage the situation on the Korean Peninsula, according to the foreign ministry.
In their first talks since Foreign Minister Park Jin took office last week, he and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi expressed concerns about North Korea's COVID-19 outbreak and exchanged opinions on the need to provide humanitarian aid to the impoverished nation, the ministry said in a statement.
Park pointed out that North Korea's continued advancement in nuclear weapons and missile capabilities poses a threat to regional stability and called for cooperation between Seoul and Bejing for stable management of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the statement said.
He also outlined the government's vision to become a "global pivotal state" based on shared values and interests, and stressed the need to develop bilateral relations based on "mutual respect" and a "siprit of cooperation," it added.
Wang called South Korea a "strategic cooperation partner" of China's and suggested deepening their bilateral ties via high-level communications, mutual cooperation and cultural exchanges as this year marks the 30th anniversary of forging their diplomatic relations.
They agreed to push for "strategic communications" for close coordination, including reciprocal visits by the two nations' leaders, cooperation in the economic and healthcare sectors, and dealing with climate change, as well as the expansion of cultural and people-to-people exchanges. (Yonhap)
