South Korea and China held high-level talks in Seoul on Tuesday amid signs of disagreement over how to deal with North Korea's nuclear and missile program.

South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam and China's Executive Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui sat down for talks as Seoul pushes for strong sanctions on Pyongyang in response to its nuclear and missile tests.

China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has been apparently reluctant to adopt a strong sanctions resolution on North Korea out of concerns for its own security interests.

Seoul and Washington, meanwhile, have begun consultations on the possible deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system in South Korea in response to what they see as a growing threat from the North.

Beijing has expressed firm opposition to the allies' move, viewing it as an expansion of Washington's military presence in the Asia Pacific.

Zhang is the first senior Chinese official to visit South Korea since the North's fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, which it claims was of a hydrogen bomb.

It is the seventh time South Korea and China have held the high-level talks, or strategic dialogue, since their launch in December 2008. (Yonhap)