Seoul has welcomed a summit meeting between the leaders of North Korea and China, expecting it will help make the Korean Peninsula a nuclear-free region. 

In a comment issued by Foreign Ministry Spokesman Noh Kyu-duk on Wednesday, the South Korean government said that it welcomes North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s visit to China and his meetings with Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping. 

Noting that the Pyongyang-Beijing summit was held ahead of the planned inter-Korean and U.S.-North summit, Seoul expressed hope that Kim’s visit to China will contribute to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and help bring permanent peace to the region. 

During Monday’s summit meeting in Beijing, as confirmed by Chinese state media on Wednesday, Kim told Xi that the North remains committed to denuclearization in accordance with the will of the North's late founder Kim Il-sung and former leader Kim Jong-il. 

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