International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde expected Friday South Korea's economy will continue to grow stably despite security risks stemming from North Korea, the foreign minister here said after their meeting in Seoul.

Top diplomat Kang Kyung-wha met Lagarde to discuss the economy of South Korea and the world as well as the country's cooperation with the IMF.

<YONHAP PHOTO-1374> In this undated image distributed on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017, by the North Korean government, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at an undisclosed location. North Korea’s state media on Sunday, Sept 3, 2017, said leader Kim Jong Un inspected the loading of a hydrogen bomb into a new intercontinental ballistic missile, a claim to technological mastery that some outside experts will doubt but that will raise already high worries on the Korean Peninsula. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)/2017-09-03 10:03:27/ <저작권자 ⓒ 1980-2017 ㈜연합뉴스. 무단 전재 재배포 금지.>
In this undated image distributed on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017, by the North Korean government, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at an undisclosed location. North Korea’s state media on Sunday, Sept 3, 2017, said leader Kim Jong Un inspected the loading of a hydrogen bomb into a new intercontinental ballistic missile, a claim to technological mastery that some outside experts will doubt but that will raise already high worries on the Korean Peninsula. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)/2017-09-03 10:03:27/ <저작권자 ⓒ 1980-2017 ㈜연합뉴스. 무단 전재 재배포 금지.>

"Lagarde shared the point that South Korea's stable economic growth will be sustained in spite of the grave situation involving issues like North Korea's recent sixth nuclear test," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The managing director of the IMF also highlighted the importance of institutional support for women workers to sustain steady global economic development.

Kang, on her part, stressed the necessity of the IMF's active role for global economic growth and financial stability, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)