South Korean prime minister leaves for China to discuss North Korean issues

South Korea's prime minister left for China on Sunday to discuss North Korean issues with the Chinese leadership and touch on other bilateral matters, Yonhap quoted his office as saying.

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn's five-day trip takes him to Tianjin where he will participate in the Summer Davos Forum 2016. At the gathering, he plans to introduce South Korea's flagship creative economy policy, which aims to generate new business opportunities through the merging of different industries and fostering startups.

During his two-day stay in the industrial city, he will also meet with South Korean businessmen operating there.

The top policymaker then plans to move to Beijing late Monday where he will meet with China's President Xi Jinping and his counterpart, Premier Li Keqiang, to discuss the North's recent firing of its Musudan missile and its impact on peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. The launch has caused Beijing to call on all sides to exercise restraint so as not to further escalate tensions.

The prime minister's office said Hwang will call for ways for the two countries to expand cooperation on dealing with Pyongyang's actions.

During talks with the Chinese leadership, the prime minister is, moreover, expected to convey Seoul's growing concerns over illegal fishing activities by Chinese boats that have routinely entered the tense inter-Korean sea border region.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Hwang will become the first sitting South Korean prime minister to visit Liaoning, a province that borders North Korea. He is scheduled to meet with Chinese leaders and businessmen to help plot a course for future bilateral exchanges.

Hwang will return to Seoul on Thursday.

Source ; MENA