SEOUL– The top diplomats of South Korea and China agreed during their virtual talks Monday to communicate closely with each other for continued momentum in bilateral summit diplomacy between the two sides, according to Seoul’s foreign ministry.
Foreign Minister Park Jin and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, shared the same view that the summit between the leaders of the two nations — President Yoon Suk-yeol and President Xi Jinping — in Bali last month served as an “important milestone” in opening the new era of Seoul-Beijing ties based on mutual respect and benefits, it said.
They agreed to work together for the “smooth” implementation of the summit agreement and have “close communication” to maintain the momentum in bilateral summit diplomacy, including Xi’s visit to South Korea, it added without elaborating whether or when the president will make a trip here.
Park expressed concerns over North Korea’s unprecedented number of ballistic missile launches this year, and stressed the importance of close cooperation between Seoul and Beijing to have Pyongyang refrain from additional provocations and return to dialogue for denuclearization.
He also asked for Beijing’s support in Seoul’s “audacious” initiative to provide Pyongyang with massive economic assistance in exchange for denuclearization steps and South Korea’s efforts toward dialogue with the North Korea.
Wang reaffirmed Beijing’s stated commitment to playing a “constructive role” in dealing with the Korean Peninsula affairs, which diplomatically means the North Korea issues.
Park and Wang met in person in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao in August.
The two sides also agreed to pursue high-level exchanges through various channels, including 1.5-track public-private dialogue platforms, and speed up consultations between the countries’ foreign ministries to establish a bilateral joint action plan for the future growth as agreed upon in their Qingdao meeting.
They also agreed to actively cooperate to achieve tangible results in areas of supply chain, resumption of negotiations of service sector investments within the bilateral free trade agreement framework and vitalization of cultural contents exchanges.
Park and Wang also agreed there are broad common interests in responding to various global issues, such as the global economic recovery and climate change, and agreed to communicate and cooperate closely in related fields.
Source: Yonhap News Agency