1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun held a dinner meeting with Vice Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China and Special Representative of the Chinese Government on the Korean Peninsular Affairs Kong Xuanyou on January 18. In the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on issues of mutual interest, including the way forward for high-level exchanges between the Republic of Korea and China this year; ways to step up substantive cooperation, including in dealing with fine dust; and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

2. Vice Ministers Cho and Kong took note that the ROK and China had been developing bilateral relations in a stable manner through robust high-level exchanges, and agreed to continue close communications at each level by facilitating the frequent exchange of views between the leaders of the two countries in various ways this year, and making active use of dialogue channels between the diplomatic authorities of the two countries.

3. In addition, the two sides agreed to continue to work together to achieve more results through cooperation in areas directly related to the lives of their people, including economy and environment.

o Vice Minister Cho stressed that fine dust is not only an issue directly related to the quality of life of the people of the two countries, but also a representative area that requires close cooperation among countries in the region. The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation on the issue by actively utilizing bilateral and multilateral channels for consultation on environmental issues, and the ROK-China environmental cooperation center.

4. Vice Ministers Cho and Kong also exchanged views on the latest situation on the Korean Peninsula, and agreed to continue close collaboration to achieve complete denuclearization and to establish a lasting peace.

* unofficial translation