Chinese Vice President Xi to visit S. Korea in mid-December: sources

BEIJING, Nov. 22 (Yonhap) -- Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, will visit with
South Korean leaders next month to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relations
and regional security issues, diplomatic sources said Sunday.
Xi, who will make the three-day trip from Dec. 17, is expected to meet with South
Korean President Lee Myung-bak and other senior officials for talks on enhancing
South Korea-China relations and discussions on security issues pertaining to the
Korean Peninsula, the sources said.
The Chinese vice president's trip was arranged following an official invitation
by the South Korean government. Xi will stop in Japan before arriving in Seoul,
and then proceed to Cambodia and Myanmar after his South Korea trip.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi has been in Japan since Thursday on a
four-day visit that is partly intended to lay the groundwork for Xi's visit to
Japan.
Xi, who assumed his post in March 2008, is regarded as one of the strongest
candidates to become the country's next president.
The trip will mark his first visit to South Korea as vice president. His first
overseas trip in that capacity was to North Korea in June last year.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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