Talks in China

[Anchor Lead]

The head of a Korean delegation attending the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He said the meeting with the president focused particularly on restoring bilateral relations.

[Pkg]

The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing was attended by 29 heads of state. Chinese President Xi Jinping who hosted a welcome banquet on the forum's first day asked for a one-on-one meeting immediately after the banquet with Rep. Park Byeong-seug who led the Korean delegation to the forum. According to Park, President Xi said that Korea-China ties should be considered a high priority, and that advancing the relationship is also important for global peace.

[Soundbite] Park Byeong-seug(Chief Delegate to the Beijing Forum) : "I believe we made breakthroughs in the strained bilateral ties."

Park said the Chinese leader also expressed satisfaction over his phone conversation with President Moon Jae-in last week and that he voiced high regard for Moon's political philosophy. However, contrary to expectations that the meeting would attempt to ease the dispute over the THAAD U.S. missile defense system's deployment, there was no mention of the issue from either side. Also meeting with Park, former Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan stressed that the separate meeting held with Park shows how much President Xi values Seoul-Beijing relations. Park also met with a high-ranking Chinese foreign affairs official late Monday evening to discuss bilateral relations. Noting that it was his personal opinion, Park mentioned that following his Beijing trip, a special envoy from Seoul could also visit China while a separate negotiation group could be formed to discuss the THAAD issue and North Korea's nuclear threat.