President Yoon Suk Yeol asked Chinese Premier Li Qiang for Beijing's cooperation on North Korea issues during a meeting on the sidelines of the 9th Korea-Japan-China Trilateral Summit.

According to presidential office spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung on Monday, Yoon asked for Beijing to play a "constructive role" in keeping North Korea's nuclear weapons development in check as China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Yoon also called for cooperation on the issue of North Korean defectors, as Beijing repatriates defectors caught in China.

In response, Li said that China has been making efforts to resolve Korean Peninsula issues peacefully and believes that political stability is important.

Li also said he was "well aware" of the concerns of the Korean side and vowed to continue communication in the future.