South Korean and Chinese leaders agreed Monday to step up their efforts to induce North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programs, an official said.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, also agreed to hold consultations to resume dialogue meant to produce progress to denuclearize North Korea and stop Pyongyang from advancing its nuclear capability, said Ju Chul-ki, senior presidential foreign affairs secretary.

Ju made the comments after a summit between Park and Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on the sidelines of an annual summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in the Chinese capital.

He did not elaborate on what he meant by dialogue, though it appears to refer to the long-stalled six-nation talks meant to end North Korea's nuclear ambition in return for aid and diplomatic concessions.

The North quit the disarmament-for-aid talks in April 2009 and conducted a second nuclear test a month later. But it has since repeatedly expressed its desire to return to the negotiating table without any preconditions. 

But South Korea and the U.S. have said that Pyongyang must first show its sincerity toward denuclearization before such talks can resume. The talks also involve China, Japan and Russia.

Xi also renewed his firm opposition to North Korea's nuclear programs and vowed to thoroughly abide by the U.N. Security Council's resolutions on North Korea, according to Ju.

Still, North Korea has repeatedly vowed to develop its economy and nuclear arsenal in tandem, viewing its nuclear programs as a powerful deterrent against what it claims is Washington's hostile policy toward it.

Also Monday, Park and Xi shared the need to hold foreign ministers' meeting among S. Korea, China and Japan by the year's end, Ju said. 

The move comes amid tensions between South Korea and Japan, and between China and Japan, mainly over territorial and other history-related issues. Japan ruled the Korean Peninsula as a colony from 1910-45, and controlled much of China in the early part of the 20th century.

Xi also expressed hope that South Korea will join a China-led regional bank, which Washington warns could be a counterweight to the existing U.S.-led Asian Development Bank.

China has long pushed to set up a new regional bank, called the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, suggesting that it can fund infrastructure projects in the region.

Still, Park remained non-committal in joining the bank, though she said South Korea will remain in close contact with China over the issue.

Ju also said Park is likely to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Beijing. (Yonhap)