China’s ambassador to South Korea said Tuesday that he met with the country’s new defense minister and expressed hope the two sides will deepen military cooperation and strategic trust.
Ambassador Dai Bing said in a post on X that he visited the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul and met with Minister Kang Shin-chul for what he described as a friendly exchange on defense cooperation and military-to-military relations. The post was translated from Chinese by the platform.
Dai said Kang visited China more than a decade ago and has “unique insights into Chinese culture,” adding that the two had a “very pleasant conversation.”
Dai said he hopes Kang will continue to pay attention to and promote defense cooperation between the two countries during his tenure, strengthen strategic mutual trust and contribute to the better development of China-South Korea relations.
Dai’s post did not describe specific agreements or discuss regional security issues. The South Korean defense ministry’s account of the meeting was not immediately available.
Kang, a retired four-star Army general, was nominated as defense minister after serving as South Korea’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia. President Lee Jae Myung nominated the former deputy commander of the U.S.-South Korea Combined Forces Command as part of a Cabinet reshuffle. He replaced Ahn Gyu-back, a civilian politician who had led the ministry.
Dai held a similar meeting with Kang’s predecessor earlier this year. Ahn and Dai met in Seoul on April 15 and agreed to help facilitate defense cooperation, according to the defense ministry. The two sides also noted the significance of the summit between Lee and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing earlier this year.
