Vice foreign ministers of South Korea and China held their first high-level strategic talks in more than two years on Wednesday amid deepening cooperation between North Korea and Russia.
First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun and his Chinese counterpart, Ma Zhaoxu, held the meeting in Seoul to discuss bilateral cooperation on key regional and global issues, according to Seoul’s foreign ministry.
The talks come amid growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trip to Pyongyang last month for summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Discussions covered a wide range of issues, including peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula, regional and global security situations, and ways to enhance bilateral relations, the ministry said.
The Korean side expressed grave concerns over a comprehensive strategic deal signed between Moscow and Pyongyang in June requiring each country to provide aid to the other if one of them is attacked and to boost economic cooperation.
Seoul also called on Beijing to play a “constructive” role for the peace, stability and denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
