Top diplomats from South Korea and China on Friday agreed to advance bilateral cooperation through restoration of cultural exchanges.

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Wang Yi, foreign minister and director of the Chinese Communist Party’s Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, reached such an agreement in Tokyo ahead of a trilateral meeting Saturday with their Japanese counterpart.

Assessing a favorable trend in Seoul-Beijing relations since a trilateral summit with Japan last May, the ministers decided to intensify two-way exchanges and cooperation based on mutual support for each side's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) summit this year and next. 

They also agreed to make efforts toward generating a substantive outcome from Chinese President Xi Jinping's potential visit to South Korea for the Gyeongju APEC summit later this year.

While Cho requested China's constructive role in persuading North Korea to suspend provocations and move toward denuclearization amid growing uncertainties in international security, Wang said Beijing's position on the matter remains unchanged and promised to continue its constructive role.