Panda pair to arrive at Samsung Everland this week

BEIJING, March 1 (Yonhap) -- A pair of giant pandas born in China is set to arrive in South Korea this week to live at an amusement park owned by Samsung Everland, a company official said Tuesday.

The pandas will arrive at Incheon International Airport on Thursday on a special charter flight from the western Chinese city of Chengdu, the official said.

South Korea and China designated Samsung Everland as the host for the bears after Beijing decided to send them to Seoul following Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to South Korea in 2014.

China's official Xinhua News Agency described the 3-year-old male panda, named Yuan Xin, as "being lively and outgoing," while the 2-year-old female, named Hua Ni, has a "slightly introverted and docile disposition."

Dubbed "panda diplomacy," China has a tradition of sending pandas to foreign countries as a gesture of friendship.
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