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| ▲ Hui Bao and Lui Bao are seen at the Everland amusement park in Yongin, 42 kilometers south of Seoul, in this file photo provided by Samsung C&T on Oct. 23, 2025. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
S Korea-China-pandas
S. Korea, China agree to deepen 'panda cooperation' following summit talks
By Lee Haye-ah
SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean and Chinese environment authorities agreed Tuesday to deepen cooperation on pandas following a summit agreement between President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss the potential lease of additional pandas to South Korea, the environment ministry here said.
Environment Minister Kim Sung-whan met with Liu Guohong, director of China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration, in Beijing and the two sides "reflected on the achievements of the two countries' panda cooperation and agreed to deepen cooperation in the future," the ministry said.
The meeting came a day after Lee and Xi agreed during their summit in Beijing to launch working-level discussions on the potential lease of more pandas to South Korea, where there are currently four living at the Everland amusement park in Yongin, 42 kilometers south of Seoul.
The four bears are Ai Bao and Le Bao, giant pandas sent by Xi in March 2016 as a symbol of the South Korea-China friendship, and their twin cubs, Hui Bao and Lui Bao, which were born at the park in 2023.
The couple's first cub, Fu Bao, was sent back to China in April 2024, before it turned four years old, in accordance with the endangered species conservation agreement.
Fu Bao's return was an emotional event as thousands of fans gathered at the park in the rain and cold to catch a final glimpse of the bear.
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