A group of young Chinese communist party leaders will visit South Korea Monday to help boost mutual ties, Seoul's foreign ministry said Sunday.
The 10-member delegation led by the councilor of the International Liaison Department at the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party will stay here for five days at the invitation of the ministry.
The delegation plans to hold meetings with South Korean diplomats and officials of political parties, and to visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a 4-kilometer-wide swath of land serving as a buffer between the two Koreas since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
They will also tour historic sites in Gyeongju, some 371 kilometers southeast of Seoul, which was the ancient Korean capital of Silla.
The visit came as the foreign ministries of the sides agreed to exchange young officials to build friendships and share experiences starting this year, a ministry spokesman said, adding a reciprocal visit will be made next year.
"China's liaison department in charge of exchanges between its Communist Party and foreign political parties plays a key role in the country's decision-making regarding foreign policies," the spokesman said.
"The exchange program with the group is expected to greatly contribute to improving relations between two countries as a whole," he said. (Yonhap)