SEOUL-- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi plans to visit South Korea early next week for talks on bilateral relations and North Korea, diplomatic sources said Monday.
During the visit, Wang will hold talks with Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and meet with other officials, sources familiar with the matter said. He could also pay a courtesy call on President Moon Jae-in.
Wang's visit, if realized, will come about five months after he last held talks with Chung in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen. Wang's last visit to Seoul took place in November last year.
South Korea has sought to maintain close ties with Beijing despite an intensifying rivalry between China and the United States, as the country tries to enlist support from Beijing to move the stalled nuclear talks with Pyongyang forward.
"We have a shared understanding with the Chinese side on the need for high-level communications, and we're closely consulting with them on various ways for exchanges," a foreign ministry official said, without giving further details.
The talks will come amid renewed tensions on the Korean Peninsula after the North warned of "a serious security crisis" in protest of the joint military exercise that Seoul and Washington staged last month.
China has expressed objections over the military drills between the South and the U.S., saying the exercise is not "constructive" and calling for Washington to avoid any action that would cause tension with the North.
While in Seoul, Wang is also expected to underscore Beijing's positions on key regional issues, including Taiwan and Xinjiang.
The two sides could also discuss possible ways to create fresh momentum for dialogue with North Korea on the occasion of the Beijing Winter Olympics slated to take place in February next year.
In February 2018, North Korea sent athletes to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea, which led to the historic first-ever summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and then U.S. President Donald Trump four months later. Kim also held three summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in 2018.
Also on the table will likely be efforts to boost people-to-people exchanges, as next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to South Korea may also be discussed during Wang's trip, a Cheong Wa Dae official said.
However, when asked if any progress has been made on arranging Xi's trip to Seoul, the Cheong Wa Dae official responded, "There's nothing I can tell you at the moment."
Source: Yonhap News Agency