The environment authorities of South Korea and China have discussed ways to cooperate on a plan that could see China possibly leasing pandas to South Korea.

Environment Minister Kim Sung-hwan and the head of China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Liu Guohong, held talks in Beijing on Tuesday in which they reviewed the progress to date of cooperation on pandas and agreed to boost future cooperation on the matter. 

The meeting came a day after President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed during their summit to discuss at the working level the issue of additional panda loans as a symbol of bilateral friendship.

In line with agreements reached during a South Korea-China summit in 2014, a female panda, Ai Bao, and a male panda, Le Bao, were brought to the nation from China in March 2016.

Previously, in September 1994, a panda couple came to South Korea to mark the second anniversary of South Korea-China ties before their early return to China in 1998. 

Fubao, the beloved giant panda who returned to China in April 2024, is the offspring of Ai Bao and Le Bao. 

The couple also had twins in July 2023. 

Currently, there are four pandas in South Korea. 

They all live at Panda World in the Everland theme park.