China's top legislator Zhang Dejiang will make a three-day visit to South Korea this week on cementing bilateral ties, a diplomatic source said Monday.
  

Zhang, who ranks third in China's ruling Communist Party hierarchy, is scheduled to make a courtesy call on President Park Geun-hye during the visit starting Wednesday and meet with leaders of South Korea's ruling and opposition parties, the source said.
  

The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
  

South Korean officials have said the parliaments of the two nations have been seeking to issue a joint statement marking the end of World War II during Zhang's visit.
  

The move came as the two countries prepare to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. This year also marks the 70th anniversary of Korea's independence from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.
  

The consensus on a joint statement was reached in a meeting between South Korean parliamentary speaker Chung Eui-hwa and Zhang in December in Beijing, according to the officials.
  

It would be the first time that the parliaments of the two nations issue a joint statement. (Yonhap)