South Korea, China agree to advance bilateral relations

By Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held talks in Beijing on Monday ahead of a trilateral summit which will be hosted by China.

Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe and South Korea's Moon will meet in the 8th Trilateral Summit Meeting in the southwestern city of Chengdu on Dec. 24.

Stressing that China and South Korea are "important countries in Asia and in the world," Xi said the two countries must strengthen bilateral ties and expand coordination in multilateral platforms, China’s international media organization CGTN quoted Xi as saying.

The two leaders also reiterated their determination to maintain peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and continue to support peace process with North Korea, Seoul-based Yonhap news agency reported.

"China and South Korea should join forces in making North Korea and the U.S. maintain the dialogue momentum," South Korea's presidential spokesperson Ko Min-jung told reporters citing Xi, according to Yonhap.

"Maintaining North Korea-U.S. dialogue momentum is more important than any other thing," Yonhap cited Moon.