Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon will visit Beijing next week to discuss with his counterpart issues of mutual interest, including ways to further promote bilateral investment and boost friendship, the municipal government here said Tuesday.

During the three-day trip starting Sunday in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of sisterhood between the two cities, Park will hold a meeting with Wang Anshun and adopt a joint declaration on investment and partnership, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Park also plans to meet with South Koreans businessmen there and attend diverse events to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the ties, the city officials added.

He originally planned to travel to Shanghai and Shantung Province along with Beijing for seven days, but he modified the schedule in consideration of the unstable security circumstances on the Korean Peninsula, according to the officials.

Tensions have been simmering over the communist North’s bellicose rhetoric and actions against the South and its allies after Pyongyang faced fresh U.N. sanctions for its third nuclear test on Feb. 12. The communist country began increasing threats following last month’s Seoul-Washington annual military exercise.

“We’ve rearranged the itinerary out of concern that the mayor’s absence for a long-term trip overseas at this juncture would further cause jitters among the citizens,” said Choi Kyung-joo, a city official in charge of international exchange.

“Park will instead send a delegation to Shanghai and Shantung to have them take charge of planned events such as signing a memorandum of understanding on economic cooperation with the local governments,” he added. (Yonhap News)