Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Defense minister holds 20th ROK-China working-level defense policy dialogue

On the morning of Thursday, June 2, the Ministry of National Defense held the 20th Republic of Korea (ROK)-China working-level defense policy dialogue with the Chinese defense ministry via video conference.

The ministry’s director-general for international affairs Kim Sang-jin and his Chinese counterpart Song Yanchao attended the dialogue as representatives. The two sides exchanged opinions on the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and in the region and other issues of mutual interest, and discussed ways to boost bilateral defense exchanges and cooperation.

During the working-level talks, the two sides agreed to expeditiously set up more military hotlines between their naval forces and air forces in line with the
｢memorandum of understanding on hotlines between naval forces and air forces of the ROK and China｣, which was revised by the defense ministries in 2021 to prevent incidents and crisis situations, and put the direct communication lines into practical operation.

The two sides also agreed to hold a ROK-China defense ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, slated to be held in Singapore in mid-June, and to continue to discuss the schedule and specific agenda topics for the meeting.