Anchor: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held phone talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin on Saturday and expressed support for Seoul's efforts to develop healthy, mature relations with China. Seoul's foreign ministry said the two officials discussed bilateral ties, South Korea and U.S. relations respectively with China as well as North Korea and other regional and global affairs.  
Kim Bum-soo has more.

Report: Ahead of his visit to Beijing, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed support for Seoul's efforts to ensure mutual respect in South Korea-China relations.

The South Korean government announced that Foreign Minister Park Jin and Blinken held telephone talks on Saturday and discussed China and North Korea issues.

This came amid a tit-for-tat friction between Seoul and Beijing over Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming's recent criticism of tightening Seoul-Washington relations.

According to the South Korean foreign ministry, Blinken during the phone talks expressed his support for Seoul's efforts to develop "mature relations with China based on mutual respect."

Park also expressed support for U.S. efforts to responsibly manage its relationship with Beijing under challenging circumstances, according to the South Korean foreign ministry.

The South Korean foreign minister is also said to have explained Seoul's stance on its relations with China, apparently in reference to Ambassador Xing's remarks.

Xing sparked a controversy last week by saying that betting on a U.S. win over China would be a mistake in a meeting with main opposition Democratic Party chair Lee Jae-myung on Thursday, a comment interpreted by Seoul as an attempt to interfere in its foreign affairs. 
 
As Washington and Beijing continue policies to contain each other's influence, Blinken is set to meet key Chinese officials during his two-day visit, beginning on Sunday.

The top U.S. diplomat said he will soon share the results of the trip with Seoul. 
 
The two diplomats also condemned North Korea's repeated provocations and agreed that its denuclearization is in the joint interest of the entire international community including China.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News