hankyoreh

By Park Min-hee, Beijing Correspondent

South Korea and China reached an agreement to hold regular national defense strategy dialogues at the vice ministerial level, with a first meeting to be held in Seoul in late July. While strategic dialogues have taken place between the two countries’ foreign ministries in the past, this marks the first in the area of national defense.

A South Korean Ministry of National Defense official reported Friday that South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie agreed to open the strategic dialogue channel while meeting in talks in Beijing that afternoon. The first dialogue is to be attended by South Korean Vice Defense Minister Lee Yong-gul and Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Deputy Chief of General Staff Ma Xiaotian.

Strategic dialogue provides a channel for open discussions on all relevant issues between two countries, with the aim of setting common goals and working jointly to achieve them. Attention is focusing on whether it can provide a starting point for building military trust between China and South Korea, which were sharply divided militarily on factors such as the latter’s joint military exercises with the United States in the West Sea following the sinking of the Cheonan last year.

Kim and Liang also agreed to resume military training exchanges halted in 2005 at Beijing’s request and to cooperation on disaster relief through the signing of a memorandum of understanding on mutual disaster relief assistance.

Kim reportedly communicated Seoul’s position on the Cheonan linking and Yeonpyeong Island artillery attack by saying, “Inter-Korean relations can only move forward once [Pyongyang] makes a firm pledge to take responsible measures for the provocation and to ensure there are no additional provocations.”

Kim also said, “South Korea will respond forcefully in terms of its self-defense rights if North Korea engages in additional armed provocations,” and requested a constructive role from Beijing to ensure that North Korea does not engage in any further reckless military provocations, a Ministry of National Defense official reported.

While meeting with Kim on Friday afternoon, PLA Chief of General Staff Chen Bingde issued pointed criticisms of the United States. Chen charged that the U.S. held military exercises with Vietnam and the Philippines even after claiming that it had no intention of becoming involved in South China Sea conflicts.

“There are a lot of difficulties in discussing any problem with America. South Korea has an alliance with the U.S., too, but you must get that sense,” Chen said.

“The U.S. always engages in actions and use expressions suited to hegemony, and what the U.S. is engaging in currently is a symbol of hegemony.”

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]