Prime Minister Kim departs for China aboard Air Force Two for Summer Davos Forum

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok departed for China on Monday for his first visit to the country since taking office, the Prime Minister's Office said.

Kim boarded Air Force Two at Seoul Airport in Seongnam on Monday afternoon, bound for Beijing on a three-day, two-night trip.

During the visit, Kim will travel to Dalian in Liaoning Province to attend the Summer World Economic Forum annual meeting, known as the Summer Davos Forum, where he is scheduled to deliver a special address. He will also visit Beijing for a range of economic and veterans affairs-related engagements.

In his address, Kim is expected to outline the government's economic vision and propose avenues for cooperation with China and the broader international community. He is also likely to meet with political and business figures from third countries attending the forum.

As this marks Kim's first visit to China since taking office, there is considerable interest in whether he will meet with senior Chinese officials, including State Council Premier Li Qiang, who ranks second in the country's administrative hierarchy.

A South Korean prime minister last attended the Summer Davos Forum in 2016, when then-Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn participated — making Kim's attendance the first in a decade.

First Vice Minister Park Yun-ju of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will accompany Kim on the trip, along with Global Climate and Environment Ambassador Kang Keum-sil, who joins as a special delegate.

"The prime minister's visit to China is expected to introduce the government's innovation economy vision to the international community, strengthen international cooperation, and accelerate mutually beneficial collaboration by sustaining the recent momentum of high-level exchanges between South Korea and China," the Prime Minister's Office said.

The visit also serves a dual purpose: supporting the president's summit diplomacy while allowing Kim to consolidate his diplomatic record as prime minister ahead of the Democratic Party of Korea's national convention in August.

Kim said at a press briefing Monday that one of the accomplishments he found most meaningful over the past year was "opening a new chapter in practical diplomacy as prime minister."

Kim has already signaled his intention to resign, and confirmation hearings are underway for his designated successor Han Seong-suk. The China trip is widely expected to be his last overseas visit before leaving office.

Air Force Two is a dedicated aircraft typically used by the president for domestic travel or trips to nearby Asian destinations, and has also been made available to the prime minister and government delegations.