Environment Minister Cho Myung-rae has conveyed to Beijing the South Korean public's concern over the fine dust blowing in from China.

Cho held talks with his Chinese counterpart Li Ganjie in Seoul on Monday. 

The two signed an implementation plan on a joint project called the Blue Sky initiative. 

They also agreed to personnel and technical exchanges to improve air pollution prevention technology as well as cooperation in regulating vehicle emissions and increasing the amount of eco-friendly cars. 

In addition, Beijing and Seoul plan to share air quality forecast information.

It was the first meeting held between the environment chiefs after they agreed to hold annual high-level policy consultations this past February. 

After the meeting, Minister Cho said that he conveyed concerns over fine dust to the Chinese minister and asked for Beijing's close cooperation in reduction measures and information sharing.

Cho noted Beijing acknowledged that a considerable amount of fine dust affecting Korea originates from China but added that Minister Li did not offer a concrete response regarding the matter.