South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae welcomed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's ongoing trip to Beijing on Tuesday,
saying the North Korea-China summit may help efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and establish lasting peace.
"We hope the exchange between China and North Korea will contribute to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of lasting peace," spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told a daily press briefing.
His remarks followed reports that Kim arrived in the Chinese capital earlier in the day for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said the Seoul government was told in advance of the visit by Pyongyang and Beijing.
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North Korean leader in Beijing for talks with Xi ahead of possible summit with Trump 2019-01-08 12:03 | North Korea
"We were contacted by both countries and have been sharing our information," he said.
The spokesman expressed hope that the China-North Korea summit would also lead to a second U.S.-North Korea summit.
"Exchanges are under way between the two Koreas, North Korea and China, and North Korea and the United States, and we hope there will be a virtuous circle of these exchanges so progress in each exchange will lead to progress in others," he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has agreed to meet the North Korean leader for their second summit, but the time and venue have yet to be set.
Trump and Kim met in Singapore in June. (Yonhap)
