The top diplomats of South Korea and China held a phone conversation Thursday to discuss regular visits between them as part of “shuttle diplomacy,” Seoul’s foreign ministry said.

The talks between Foreign Minister Park Jin and Wang Yi, head of the foreign affairs commission of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, come as bilateral relations appear to be thawing following tensions in recent months over the Chinese ambassador to Seoul’s thinly veiled warning against South Korea’s alignment with the United States.

The last bilateral meeting between Park and Wang was held in Qingdao, China, in August, 2022.

The two diplomats also discussed pending bilateral issues, the ministry said.

Earlier this month, China lifted a ban on group tours to South Korea. The ban had been in place for more than six years amid tension over South Korea’s hosting of the THAAD U.S. missile defense system.

The two sides agreed to push forward more regular conversation between high-ranking officials between the two countries in various sectors, the ministry said.

The two diplomats also said progress was made at high-level bilateral economic talks held Tuesday, where the two sides discussed ways to ensure stable supply chains and the strengthening of bilateral economic cooperation

The 27th meeting of the bilateral joint economic committee, led by South Korea’s Second Vice Foreign Minister Oh Young-ju and Li Fei, China’s assistant minister of commerce, was held in Beijing.

The two diplomats also shared the view on the need to cooperate for the resumption of a trilateral consultative body between South Korea, China and Japan, the ministry said.

Source: Yonhap News Agency