Lima: President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed his desire for South Korea and China to collaborate in promoting regional peace and stability as a response to the intensifying military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. This call to action came during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a multilateral summit held in Peru. According to Yonhap News Agency, Yoon and Xi's meeting marked their first face-to-face encounter in two years, taking place at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima. The discussions were fueled by concerns over North Korea's troop deployment to Russia, which poses potential risks of expanding the conflict in Ukraine and carrying significant security implications for Europe as well as the Indo-Pacific region. During the summit, Yoon emphasized the critical need for South Korea and China to maintain robust communication and cooperation to navigate the numerous challenges both nations face amidst the rapidly changing global security and economic l andscape. He highlighted the importance of joint efforts to address North Korea's provocations, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the military partnership between Russia and North Korea. Yoon acknowledged China as a vital partner for collaboration in areas including security, economy, culture, and people-to-people exchanges. He expressed hope that the two countries would further develop their strategic cooperative partnership grounded in mutual respect, reciprocity, and shared interests. Echoing Yoon's sentiments, President Xi Jinping underscored the necessity for South Korea and China to pursue a "healthy and steady" progression of their bilateral relations. He emphasized that despite the significant changes in global and regional dynamics over the past two years, the relationship between China and South Korea has continued to develop positively. Xi highlighted the importance of adhering to the original intentions behind establishing diplomatic ties, promoting good-neighborly friendship, and remaining dedic ated to mutual benefit and co-prosperity. Moreover, Beijing's recent decision to add South Korea to its list of temporary visa waiver countries was cautiously welcomed by Seoul as a positive step towards strengthening bilateral ties. South Korea expressed optimism that this move would help foster a more amicable sentiment between the two nations.