South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday called for enhanced cooperation with China to promote “regional peace and stability” following his first in-person meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in two years, according to the Yonhap news agency.

China, a key ally of North Korea, remains a crucial player in regional security, particularly as South Korea continues to face provocations from the North, with leader Kim Jong Un engaging in increasingly aggressive rhetoric and military actions. Yoon emphasized that both nations should work together to address threats such as North Korea’s provocations, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and growing military ties between Russia and North Korea. “I hope our two countries will cooperate to promote stability and peace in the region,” Yonhap quoted him as saying.

The leaders met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru, which represents 21 economies and accounts for roughly 60 percent of global GDP. Yoon’s administration has voiced concerns about North Korea’s military cooperation with Russia, including the reported deployment of North Korean troops to participate in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

While South Korea raised these issues, Chinese state media did not mention North Korea or Russia in its coverage of the meeting. Instead, Xi emphasized the need for China and South Korea to strengthen their strategic partnership, according to Xinhua. Beijing and Seoul are major trading partners, even though China is North Korea’s primary diplomatic and economic supporter, while South Korea is a military ally of the United States.

China has previously called for a “political settlement” to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and reiterated that stance after North Korea labeled South Korea a “hostile” state earlier this year.

Despite the shared economic ties, the relationship between China and South Korea has faced challenges, such as Beijing’s recent detention of a South Korean citizen on charges of alleged espionage.