MILAN ― President Park Geun-hye held a bilateral meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday to discuss issues ranging from regional security to economic cooperation, amid mixed signs of hope and tension on the Korean Peninsula as Pyongyang moves to engage in talks with Seoul.

The talk was held on sidelines of the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit that brought leaders from 51 Asian and European nations together in Milan to enhance “connectivity” between the two continents on economic cooperation and global matters.

Park and Li were among the prominent leaders attending the biennial summit, alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Park held bilateral talks with the leaders of France and Denmark, but she did not hold a separate meeting with Abe despite the Japanese leader’s hopes for summit.

The sideline meeting between Park and Li drew keen attention as it was held while Seoul and Pyongyang are seeking to set the date for the expected inter-Korean talks. Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Wednesday that it proposed holding the inter-Korean meeting on Oct. 30, but the North had yet to respond to it.

During a surprise visit by the high-level North Korean delegation to the Incheon Asian Games on Oct. 4, the two sides agreed to resume high-level talks, which were last held in February.

Park and Li were expected to have reaffirmed their zero-tolerance stance on North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs and shared ideas on bringing peace to the Korean Peninsula.

The two were also expected to discussed a bilateral free trade deal that has been under prolonged negotiations due to conflicting interests. Reports say the two sides are working to seal the deal before the APEC meeting scheduled for November in Beijing.

The meeting was also held amid growing concerns over a possible diplomatic spat in the aftermath of the death of a Chinese fisherman during a raid by Korean Coast Guard officers last week.

By Cho Chung-un, Korea Herald correspondent
(christory@heraldcorp.com)