China, ROK to open maritime boundary talks

Beijing and Seoul will begin their first round of maritime demarcation talks in the Chinese capital on Friday, aiming to resolve overlapping claims through negotiation.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying confirmed the schedule at a regular news briefing on Thursday.

"To fairly and properly demarcate the China-ROK maritime boundary through negotiations and consultations is of great significance to upholding tranquillity and stability of the waters and to consolidating and growing friendly bilateral cooperation," Hua said.