President Moon Jae-in talked with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the phone for half an hour on Thursday afternoon about the spread of coronavirus and resumption of the U.S.-North Korea talks, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok.
It was their first phone conversation since May 2018.
"The government is going to give China, our closest neighbor, what little help we can offer in its efforts to combat COVID-19 because we regard China's difficulties as our own," Kang quoted Moon as saying. "We believe that the Chinese people, united under President Xi, will overcome this crisis with their power of solidarity."
Xi thanked him for the remarks, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
Moon extended his condolences to the Chinese victims of coronavirus and also thanked Beijing for its cooperation in the evacuation of Koreans from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.
Moon and Xi also talked about resumption of the U.S.-North Korea talks. "The two leaders shared the view that the top priority should be placed on resumption of talks between the North and the U.S. and that the two sides should patch up their differences in opinions," the spokesman said.
The two leaders agreed that Xi will visit Korea as scheduled in the first half of this year, the spokesman added. He is expected in June but will first visit Tokyo in April as scheduled despite the spread of coronavirus.
Seoul hopes that Beijing will cooperate in North Korean issues and finally fully lift an unofficial boycott of Korean goods and services.
