Lee expects to resume inter-Korean ties after holding 1st summit

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Saturday he expects to resume inter-Korean dialogue following his first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.

Lee welcomed Xi's first visit to South Korea in 11 years for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the southeastern city of Gyeongju, saying he hoped the meeting would lay a foundation for "tangible results."

He also cited recent high-level exchanges between Beijing and Pyongyang as a positive step that could help reopen channels with North Korea.

Lee said Seoul and Beijing should "strengthen their strategic communication, make use of these conditions and work toward resuming dialogue with North Korea."

"It can never be overstated how important regional security is," he added.

Pyongyang has not responded to Seoul's offers to restart inter-Korean dialogue since Lee took office in June this year.

On the economic front, Lee said bilateral cooperation has shifted from a "vertical structure" to a "horizontal one," emphasizing the need to build a "mutually beneficial" partnership.

South Korea and China signed memorandums of understanding on services and trade, as well as on a currency swap. Another agreement covered joint responses to voice phishing and online scams.

For his part, Xi urged both countries to "work together to practice genuine multilateralism and safeguard the multilateral trading system."

He called on both sides to explore cooperation in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), biopharmaceuticals, green industries and the silver economy.

China and South Korea "are important close neighbors that cannot be moved away, and cooperation partners that cannot be separated," Xi told Lee, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.

Beijing stands ready to work with Seoul to "enhance communication, deepen cooperation," advance the bilateral strategic cooperative partnership and "inject more positive energy into regional peace and development," Xi said.

The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992. Bilateral trade reached $267.6 billion in 2024, according to official data.

Xi last visited South Korea in 2014 under then-President Park Geun-hye, when ties were described as being at their "peak."