BEIJING, (Yonhap) -- South Korea and China will hold a fresh round of bilateral talks on the delimitation of sea boundaries next month, China's foreign ministry has said, an issue that has been a constant source of diplomatic tension between Seoul and Beijing.

President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to launch a new round of talks on sea boundary demarcation this year during their summit last year.

South Korea and China have long been at loggerheads over the submerged, Seoul-controlled Ieodo that lies within the overlapping exclusive economic zones of South Korea and China.

Although international maritime law stipulates that a submerged rock cannot be claimed as territory by any country, South Korea effectively controls Ieodo, which is closer to it than any other country.

Director-level officials from South Korea and China have held annual discussions on the issue of sea boundaries since 1996, but they have failed to bridge gaps on how to demarcate their overlapping economic exclusive zones.

China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters on Friday that the upcoming talks would have a "great significance to upholding the tranquility and stability of the relevant waters and consolidating and growing bilateral friendly cooperation."

"It is hoped that China and the ROK can fairly and properly resolve the overlapping claims of maritime rights and interests through amicable consultations and set a good example for regional countries in addressing similar issues," Hua said, without saying the exact date of the talks.

In November 2013, China drew concerns by declaring an air defense zone over the East China Sea that overlapped with South Korea's own air defense zone and Ieodo.

Ieodo is located 149 kilometers southwest of Korea's southernmost island of Marado and 247 kilometers northeast of the nearest Chinese island Tongdao.