Prime Minister Han Duck-soo arrived in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou on Saturday to attend the opening ceremony of the Asian Games and meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the sporting event, his office said.

During his two-day visit, Han is set to attend a luncheon hosted by Xi for the leaders of countries competing in the Asian Games and hold talks with Xi ahead of the opening ceremony later in the day.

The meeting between Han and Xi will take place at 4:30 p.m., his office said in a notice to reporters, without elaborating on the venue or agenda.

Han will be the first high-level South Korean official to meet with Xi since President Yoon Suk Yeol met with him on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022.

During the meeting, Han is expected to convey Seoul's initiatives to arrange a trilateral summit involving Japan and China, and extend an invitation to Xi for a visit to South Korea, a proposal previously made by Yoon during the November meeting.

Han is accompanied by First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin and Vice Culture Minister Jang Mi-ran, a former Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting.

Han earlier told reporters that Seoul is committed to maintaining an amicable relationship with Beijing, emphasizing that his upcoming trip to the Asian Games aims to demonstrate Seoul's dedication to enhancing South Korea-China relations.

South Korea has usually sent the culture minister to such events. (Yonhap)

• ·Twitch plans to shut down in S. Korea over high network costs
• ·홍준표 "엑스포 박빙 보고…尹 파리 출장가게 한 참모들 징계해야"
• ·Leeum Museum to restore Korean artifacts from overseas institutions
• ·Corning appoints company veteran as new Korea head
• ·Blackpink survives 7
• ·Leeum Museum to restore Korean artifacts from overseas institutions
• ·북·러 또 무기거래? "나진항에 석달새 대형선박 18척 드나들어”
• ·[New in Korean] Tribute to mothers, daughters in 'Passing Through Winter'
• ·Korea, Japan hold working
• ·As streaming services raise fees, some turn to illegal streaming sites
• ·Insurance firms' net income jumps over 47% on
• ·ASEAN filmmakers' works to be screened in Busan
• ·Korean students outperform OECD average amid pandemic havoc: data
• ·尹대통령, 이동관 방통위원장 사의 수용했다…"면직안 재가"
• ·[Global Finance Awards] Going global essential in era of digital finance
• ·Insurance firms' net income jumps over 47% on