The Korea Herald

피터빈트

S. Korean PM and Chinese president discuss closer ties

By 이지윤

Published : April 14, 2011 - 19:25

    • Link copied

BEIJING/SANYA -- South Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik met with Chinese President Hu Jintao on a southern Chinese island Thursday for discussions on boosting their countries' bilateral relationship, Kim's office said.

Kim, who arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, flew to Hainan Island to attend the Boao Forum for Asia, an annual regional economic forum that kicked off Thursday.

During his meeting with the Chinese leader in Sanya, a city near the venue of the three-day forum, Kim delivered South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's greetings and an invitation to the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit slated for next spring in Seoul, the office said.

Hu expressed his appreciation for the invitation, it said.

Kim and Hu exchanged opinions on ways to further "strategic partnership" relations between the countries and the political situation on the Korean Peninsula, among other issues of mutual interest, it said.

After the meeting, Kim also had separate talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, both of whom came to attend the Boao Forum and discussed ways to expand substantive cooperation with the countries in various fields, the office said. (Yonhap News)