Choo Mi-ae, the leader of South Korea's ruling Democratic Party, will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping for talks during her trip to Beijing this week, her aide said Wednesday.
The meeting is slated to take place on the sidelines of an international conference of political parties in the Chinese capital Friday, amid heightened tensions sparked by North Korea's long-range ballistic missile launch on Wednesday.
Choo embarks on her four-day visit to China on Thursday to attend the conference, titled the "Communist Party of China in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting," and meet Beijing officials and South Korean residents there.
![Choo Mi-ae, the leader of the ruling Democratic Party, attends a party meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on Nov. 29, 2017. (Yonhap)](http://res.heraldm.com/phpwas/restmb_idxmake.php?idx=640&simg=/content/image/2017/11/29/20171129000930_0.jpg)
The political conference is to be held under the main theme "Working Together Towards A Community with A Shared Future for Humanity and A Better World: Responsibilities of Political Parties," Chinese media reported. On Sunday, Choo is to deliver a keynote speech.
During her stay in China, Choo is also set to have an interview with the People's Daily, a Communist Party newspaper.
Earlier this month, Choo visited the United States as part of her diplomatic efforts to strengthen the bilateral alliance and help address pending issues, such as trade and evolving North Korean threats.
Choo also plans to visit Russia next month and Japan early next year. (Yonhap)