Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Washington later this month to attend the Nuclear Security Summit, China's foreign ministry said Wednesday.

The summit, set for March 31 to April 1, is aimed at discussing ways to reduce the stockpile of highly enriched uranium and weapons-grade plutonium, to keep it out of the hands of terrorists and to ensure atomic safety.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye will also attend the summit.

North Korea's defiant pursuit of nuclear weapons is likely to become one of the topics of discussion during the summit to be hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama.

North Korea has been slapped with tougher U.N. sanctions for carrying out its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and a long-range rocket launch on Feb. 7.

Before heading to Washington, the Chinese president will visit the Czech Republic on March 28-30, according to the Chinese ministry. (Yonhap)