South Korea and China to Establish Additional Defense Ministry Hotline

On the 7th, when the Ministry of National Defense officially began preparations for the move, the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul were seen. Following the approval of the supplementary budget expenditure plan for relocating the presidential office at the temporary Cabinet meeting held the previous day, the Ministry of National Defense plans to sign a formal contract with a professional moving company as early as this day and start relocating offices currently housed in the main building of the current headquarters to nearby buildings, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff building and other on- and off-base facilities, by department and division. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] A direct hotline between the navies and air forces of China and South Korea will be established. This is to prevent accidental clashes and manage crises amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula due to signs of North Korea preparing for a nuclear test.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 2nd, the defense chiefs of South Korea and China will meet for the first time in 2 years and 7 months. On the morning of the same day, the 20th Korea-China Defense Policy Working Meeting was held via video conference with the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, and it was agreed to hold a Korea-China defense ministerial meeting at the Asia Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue) in Singapore in mid-month.

Measures for defense exchange and cooperation between the two countries, including the navy and air force direct hotline, were also discussed at the meeting. The Ministry of National Defense reported that both sides agreed to develop practical cooperation based on mutual respect between Korea and China, and to enhance military trust between the two countries through high-level communication and exchange cooperation in the defense sector.

In particular, the Korea-China Ministry of National Defense decided to complete the additional establishment of the direct hotline, promoted according to the memorandum of understanding on the Korea-China navy and air force direct hotline revised last year for preventing accidental clashes and managing crises, as soon as possible and to actually operate it. The Korea-China Defense Policy Working Meeting is a regular consultation body at the director-general level between the two countries, first held in 1995 and regularly held since 2004. The previous meeting was held in March 2021.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.