Anchor: President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first summit in the southeastern city of Gyeongju following the close of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering. Lee called the summit significant and a complete restoration of bilateral relations. 
Rosyn Park reports.

Report: President Lee Jae Myung sat down with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Gyeongju National Museum on Saturday, marking the two leaders' first official summit since Lee took office in June.

Lee wrote on social media the following day that the meeting marked a complete restoration of bilateral relations and a return to practical, mutually beneficial cooperation as strategic partners.

During the discussion, Lee relayed to Xi his expectations of stronger strategic communication with China as part of South Korea's efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea.

According to the presidential office, Lee called for China to play a constructive role in achieving the denuclearization of North Korea, to which Xi replied that Beijing will continue working towards peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. 

Lee has been urging members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) bloc, including China and the United States, to support peace and denuclearization in the region.

Ahead of Lee and Xi’s summit, however, Pyongyang called denuclearization an unrealizable “pipe dream.”

Lee has also been hoping to strike a balance between maintaining good relations with China, South Korea's traditional trade partner, and the U.S., its most important strategic ally.

After their talks, Lee and Xi signed seven memorandums of understanding, including pacts to strengthen bilateral trade across services and cooperation to combat voice phishing and online scams.

One such agreement renews a currency swap deal worth 70 trillion won, or about 49 billion U.S. dollars, for another five years. The previous agreement between the two nations expired last month.

Meanwhile, national security adviser Wi Sung-lac said China’s ban on Hallyu, or South Korean pop culture, was among the issues the two leaders discussed during the summit. 
Rosyn Park, KBS World Radio News.