S. Korea’s Moon to visit China for summit with Japan amid Pyongyang tension

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will visit China next week for a trilateral summit with Japan amid tension over stalled denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington, Moon’s office said on Tuesday.

Moon is scheduled to arrive in China on December 23, one day before the planned trilateral meeting in the southwestern city of Chengdu with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The leaders would review the recent situation on the peninsula and discuss ways to boost three-way cooperation to achieve denuclearization and permanent peace, Reuters reports. Moon is also expected to hold separate talks with Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The meeting comes amid a war of words that has rekindled in recent days between North Korea and the US ahead of a year-end deadline set by Pyongyang for Washington to soften its stance in negotiations.