South Korean, Chinese vice foreign ministers hold talks in Seoul

South Korean and Chinese vice foreign ministers met in Seoul on Friday for talks on deepening bilateral cooperation in key security issues, including North Korea's nuclear weapons program, officials said. The meeting between South Korean Deputy Foreign Ministry Lee Kyung-soo and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin follows the Chinese official's trip to Pyongyang earlier this week. Liu flew into Seoul late Thursday right after his four-day trip to Pyongyang, a rare back-to-back visit by a ranking Chinese official to both Koreas. It is the first high-level talks between South Korea and China since the beginning of this year. "Vice Foreign Minister Liu's Seoul visit that immediately follows his North Korea visit indicates that our strategic cooperation and communication are gaining ground," Lee said in the opening remarks of the meeting. "It's my third visit to Seoul since November last year," Liu said in his opening remarks, adding that this frequency shows the closeness of the countries' bilateral ties. According to officials, Liu could relay a message from North Korea, where he met with foreign affairs officials on issues that included North Korea's nuclear weapons program. The issue of denuclearizing North Korea could be on the agenda, with diplomatic efforts underway to resume the long-stalled six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear program, they said. The two senior diplomats were also expected to discuss ways to bolster peace on the Korean Peninsula amid a likelihood of political instability in North Korea as shown in the recent in-family purge. Liu is the most senior Chinese official to visit North Korea since the high-profile execution of leader Kim Jong-un's once-powerful uncle Jang Song-thaek in mid-December. The Chinese official is also scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae later in the day and return home on Saturday.