On Monday 7 May, South Korea and China held their first working-level defense talks in over two years in Seoul to discuss inter-Korean ties, regional security issues and future bilateral cooperation. The current improvement in the relations between both Koreas and between the USA and North Korea opens new hopes.

Seoul demanded China take measures to prevent its military planes from breaching South Korea's air defense identification zone (KADIZ) Map source: Korea Joongang Daily

Yeo Suk-joo, the policy chief at South Korea's Ministry of National Defense, met with his Chinese counterpart Hu Changming, chief of the Office for International Military Cooperation at the Central Military Commission. It was the first working-level defense policy talks since January 2016 as the meetings were suspended amid a diplomatic feud over the deployment of the US missile system Terminal High Altitude Area Defense in South Korea. "We explained about the results of the inter-Korean summit on April 27 and security situations on the Korean Peninsula," Seoul's defense ministry said in a release. "Both sides also discussed defense cooperation and exchange plans."

Seoul demanded China take measures to prevent its military planes from breaching South Korea's air defense identification zone (KADIZ), an official said on condition of anonymity. The Chinese warplanes entered the KADIZ without notification on Jan. 29, Feb. 27 and April 28. "Following the event repatriating the remains of Chinese soldiers killed during the Korean War on March 28, this meeting will boost ties between the two countries and will provide opportunity to pursue defense cooperation and exchanges in various areas," the ministry said.