President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting in Bali, Indonesia, Nov. 15. Yonhap
President Yoon Suk Yeol will hold a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru on Friday, the presidential office said Thursday (local time).
It will be their second summit since their first meeting in Indonesia in November 2022.
"The two leaders are expected to discuss various measures to facilitate economic cooperation, culture and people-to-people exchanges and share in-depth opinions on regional security issues, including matters on the Korean Peninsula," Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo said during a briefing in Lima.
Among likely agenda items is North Korea's troop deployment to Russia in support of its war in Ukraine, which has caused concerns over broader security implications on the Korean Peninsula.
In an interview with Spanish news agency EFE on Thursday, Yoon said Seoul will continue maintaining "strategic dialogue" with China to encourage it to play a role in promoting regional stability.
Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo explains President Yoon Suk Yeol's plan to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit during a press briefing in Lima, Peru, Nov. 14. Yonhap
Amid the closer alignment between Pyongyang and Moscow, Beijing recently included Korea on the list of temporary visa waiver countries. Seoul welcomed the decision, voicing hope that the move will help further promote "friendly sentiment" between the two neighbors.
Yoon has also been pushing to hold bilateral talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the APEC summit, according to his office.
On Friday, Yoon will also join a trilateral meeting with Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to further advance security cooperation by building on the momentum from the first-ever standalone summit held at Camp David in August 2023.
At the summit, the leaders are expected to discuss ways to ensure continuous development of the trilateral cooperation, including establishment of a trilateral cooperation secretariat, the official said.
The latest move comes amid rising uncertainty over potential shifts in the U.S. security policy brought by the impending return of former U.S. President Donald Trump to the White House in January. (Yonhap)
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