South Korea's nuclear envoy was to leave Thursday for China to discuss efforts to denuclearise North Korea after the death of its leader Kim Jong-Il, the foreign ministry said.
The trip comes as Seoul media and some lawmakers denounced China's reaction to Kim's death and accused it of alienating the South to strengthen its clout with the North.
Envoy Lim Sung-Nam, during a two-day visit, will meet his counterpart Wu Dawei to assess the situation on the Korean peninsula and how to respond to Kim's death, the ministry said in a statement.
"The upcoming meeting is expected to contribute to more active communication and cooperation between South Korea and China," it said.
Six-party talks on scrapping the North's nuclear weaponry, chaired by China and also involving the two Koreas, the United States, Russia and Japan, have been at a standstill since December 2008.
But negotiations to revive the forum appeared to be making progress before Kim's death last Saturday. Media reports said Pyongyang would agree to suspend its uranium enrichment programme in return for food aid from Washington.
Suspending the uranium programme — seen as a potential source of bomb-making fuel — is a key US demand before six-party negotiations resume.
The North formally quit the six-party forum in April 2009, one month before its second nuclear test. It had long said it wanted the talks to restart, but without preconditions.
The North's state media have urged its people and military to rally behind Kim's youngest son and successor Jong-Un.
China, the sole major ally of the impoverished communist state, threw its backing behind Jong-Un hours after the announcement Monday of Kim's death, urging North Koreans to "unite as one and turn their sorrow into strength".
Beijing, fearful of instability on its border, also pledged to work with the North to ensure the "peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the region".
President Hu Jintao personally offered his condolences during a surprise visit to the North Korean embassy in Beijing on Tuesday.
The moves, coupled with Seoul's perceived inability to communicate with Beijing after the death, sparked criticism from the South's media and lawmakers.
President Lee Myung-Bak had phone conversations with leaders of the United States, Japan and Russia after the death announcement. He has not talked with Hu.
"China's working-level diplomats have not responded to requests from the (South's) presidential office… their phones are all off," Dong-A Ilbo newspaper quoted one diplomatic source as saying.
"How can we interpret this situation where our president cannot even speak to Hu Jintao when he (Hu) has time to personally visit the North Korean embassy?" said Park Sun-Young of the Liberty Forward Party Tuesday.
"Are China and South Korea really strategic partners?" JoongAng Ilbo said in an editorial Thursday, calling Beijing "arrogant" and "incomprehensible".
Chosun Ilbo said China sees Kim's death as an opportunity to strengthen its influence over the North and over eventual Korean reunification.
