China's assistant minister of foreign affairs plans to visit South Korea next week to discuss North Korea's nuclear program and bilateral issues, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday.

Liu Jianchao will make a four-day visit to Seoul that starts on Sunday, where he will meet with his South Korean counterpart Lee Kyung-soo to discuss geopolitical situations and issues of mutual interest, the ministry said.

"The visit is expected to help flesh out the strategic cooperative partnership between Seoul and Beijing," the foreign ministry said.

Liu's trip comes as Seoul and four other nations involved in the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program are to gauge Pyongyang's willingness toward denuclearization.

The six-party talks involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia have been dormant since late 2008 when Pyongyang abruptly walked away from the negotiation table.

Following the Seoul visit, Liu will fly to Japan to have security talks slated for next Thursday with Japanese diplomats and defense officials, the first time in four years. (Yonhap)