(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead with more info; ADDS details throughout)
By Oh Seok-min
SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will visit China this week for talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on North Korea-related issues and bilateral relations, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday.
Cho is scheduled to make a two-day visit to Beijing starting Friday, during which he will hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang and attend a dinner on the same day, according to the ministry.
"The two ministers plan to hold wide-ranging discussions on issues of mutual interest, including bilateral relations, developments on the Korean Peninsula and other regional issues," ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said at a press briefing.
Cho's visit follows an invitation from Wang during their talks in Seoul in August. At the time, the two ministers exchanged views on bilateral relations and Korean Peninsula issues, with Cho calling for Beijing to play a constructive role in bringing North Korea back to dialogue.
The visit will precede President Lee Jae Myung's planned trip to China to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen on Nov. 18-19. Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. President Donald Trump and other world leaders are also expected to attend the summit.
The gathering is expected to provide an opportunity for Xi and Trump to meet. The possibility of a trilateral meeting involving Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit has also drawn attention.
There has also been speculation about a possible meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during Trump's trip to Asia, as the U.S. president has expressed interest in resuming dialogue with Pyongyang.
A South Korean presidential official said Thursday that a meeting between Trump and Kim on the sidelines of the APEC summit was unlikely, while noting that it was difficult to predict whether contact between the two leaders might take place before or after the summit, citing "many unpredictable factors."
"While there have been various reports about the possibility of renewed U.S.-North Korea dialogue, we currently see little likelihood of any concrete moves. We are closely monitoring relevant developments," spokesperson Park said.
"We hope the resumption of U.S.-North Korea dialogue will help create a virtuous cycle of progress toward stability and peace on the Korean Peninsula," he added.
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