S. Korea pushes for Moon's China visit this year, Xi's trip to Seoul in 2018

SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is pushing for President Moon Jae-in's official visit to China to take place before the end of this year, as well as for Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to Seoul to happen next year, its top diplomat said Monday. Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha disclosed the policy plans in a parliamentary report submitted to the National Assembly's 22-member Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee a week after the neighbors reached a broad agreement to end more than one year of diplomatic friction over Seoul's deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. "(The government) plans to push to reinforce exchange, cooperation and strategic cooperative partnership with China by reinvigorating high-level personnel exchange, including (Moon's) top-level visit to China by the end of this year and the Chinese leader's South Korea visit next year," Kang said in the report. She said the government will work with China in such a way that the deployment issue would not impede bilateral relations. It will also further step up "close strategic cooperation" with China to join forces in solving the North Korea nuclear issue in a peaceful manner, she noted. Kang also hinted at Moon's possible visit to Japan by saying that the government "will push for the leader's trip to Japan on the occasion of a Japan-hosted summit meeting of the three countries." Japan is reportedly pushing to host the originally regular trilateral meeting by the end of this year. Seoul will also review "ultra powerful" punitive measures against North Korea, such as shutting off oil supplies to the country and a ban on the country's export of workers, in the event of the regime's further military provocations, the foreign minister said. South Korea plans to capitalize on the country's hosting of the 2018 Winter Olympics to secure the international support and momentum the country needs in order to improve relations with North Korea and denuclearize the country, she added. pbr@yna.co.kr (END)