Xi Jinping and Woo Won-shik Meet in Harbin... Prospects for APEC Visit to Korea Discussed

Specific Details Not Disclosed

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Woo Won-shik, Speaker of the National Assembly, who is visiting Harbin, Heilongjiang Province.

China Central Television (CCTV) reported on the 7th that President Xi met with Speaker Woo, who visited Harbin Taiyangdao (太陽島) Hotel to attend the opening ceremony of the 9th Winter Asian Games.

This is the first official meeting between President Xi and a high-ranking Korean official since the emergency martial law situation in Korea last December. However, CCTV did not disclose specific details.

Speaker Woo is visiting China for a 4-night, 5-day trip starting from the 5th, upon the invitation of Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China (equivalent to Speaker of the National Assembly and ranked 3rd officially).

Speaker Woo had previously stated to Korean correspondents that he was working to arrange a meeting with President Xi. He also expressed the view that President Xi's visit to Korea is necessary in line with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held this year in Gyeongju for the development of Korea-China relations. It is expected that topics including the visit to Korea were discussed during this meeting.