Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan departed from South Korea Monday afternoon for a three-day trip to China.

Kim will meet with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jieche, pay a visit to Premier Wen Jiabao, and have a dinner with senior Chinese Communist Party official Wang Jiarui on Tuesday.

This is Kim’s first official visit to China since taking office in October and is largely a response visit to Yang’s February visit to South Korea.

With the upcoming 20th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties, the two counterparts will discuss developing bilateral relations as well as bolstering economic and trade collaboration. Another key agenda will be the situation on the Korean peninsula, including the North Korean nuclear issue.

In particular, watchers say that Kim will discuss responses by the international community, including those by the United Nations Security Council, to North Korea’s uranium enrichment program (UEP). Also up for discussion is the resumption of the six-party talks.