Page 188 - 2018 Defense White Paper

Section 3 Expansion of Defense

Exchanges and Cooperation

The ROK Armed Forces has been developing cooperative defense relations with China, Japan, and Russia
based on the ROK–U.S. Alliance to promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast
Asia. The ROK Armed Forces has also been contributing to world peace by expanding the boundaries of
defense diplomacy to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Central and South America, and Africa, and by actively
participating in multilateral security consultative bodies.

1. Strengthening Defense Exchanges and Cooperation with
Neighboring Countries

| Defense Exchanges and Cooperation with China |
The ROK and China have developed their relationship
in various areas, such as politics, economy, society, and
culture, since the establishment of diplomatic relations

in 1992, and their relationship was upgraded to a
“strategic cooperative partnership” in 2008. However,
ROK–China Defense Ministerial Talks
after July 2016, when the decision to deploy the U.S.
(October 2018)
Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)
system in the ROK to counter the growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea was
announced, most defense exchanges and cooperation between the ROK and China, except

the humanitarian repatriation of Chinese soldiers’ remains and education exchange, were
suspended. China strongly opposed the deployment, arguing that it would harm the country
and the region’s strategic security interests.

In December 2017, during the ROK–China Summit, the leaders of the two countries decided
to expand bilateral cooperation to areas, such as politics, diplomacy, and security, and to vitalize
various high-level strategic dialogues. Since the summit, the two countries have been restoring

186 Chapter 5 Development of the ROK–U.S. Alliance, and Expansion of Defense Exchanges and Cooperation