China to send high-level delegation to S. Korea amid improving ties

SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Yonhap) -- China is planning to send a high-level delegation to South Korea to explain the outcome of the ruling Communist Party's recent congress, the foreign ministry here said Tuesday.

The move comes after the two countries announced last week that they had reached an agreement to improve bilateral ties frayed by the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in South Korea.

"China is preparing to dispatch a high-level delegation to explain the result of the party's 19th congress," ministry spokesman Noh Kyu-duk said in a press briefing. "(China) is currently discussing the relevant scheduling details with our side."

At the congress last month, President Xi Jinping secured his second five-year term as the head of state.

Regarding a news report that 10 North Korean defectors were arrested in China's Liaoning Province and are currently at risk of being sent back to North Korea, the spokesman said South Korea has been repeatedly telling China to allow North Korean defectors to go to a third country of their choice.

pbr@yna.co.kr
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