Seoul’s top diplomat pressed Beijing to help bring North Korea back to negotiations on Wednesday, meeting his Chinese counterpart face-to-face for the first time.

South Korean foreign minister Cho Hyun met China’s Wang Yi for three hours of talks and dinner in Beijing on Wednesday, discussing Korean Peninsula affairs, bilateral relations and other issues of mutual concern, according to a ROK foreign ministry press release.

The ministry said Cho stressed Seoul’s determination to make “substantive progress toward denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and cooperation” and urged Beijing to “encourage North Korea’s return to dialogue.”

Wang