South Korea foreign minister to speak with Chinese counterpart on Friday

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will speak with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi by telephone at 1000 GMT on Friday, the foreign ministry in Seoul said in a text message to reporters. Their teleconference comes in the wake of a North Korean nuclear test earlier this week that has increased tensions between the two Koreas. South Korea's foreign ministry had requested a phone call with Wang since directly after North Korea announced on Wednesday it had tested a hydrogen bomb, the South's Yonhap News Agency said. However, the phone call had been delayed due to China's "internal scheduling", the report said. China is the North's main economic and diplomatic backer, although relations between the two Cold War allies have cooled in recent years. (Reporting by Christine Kim; Editing by Michael Perry)