Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=4/7/05

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=SOKOR/CHINA MILITARY (L-O)

NUMBER=2-323805

BYLINE=KURT ACHIN

DATELINE=SEOUL

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

HEADLINE: South Korea Announces Improved Military Ties With China

INTRO: South Korea is planning to increase military cooperation with China. The government has not released details of the improved ties, but the move has drawn criticism for shifting alliances at an inappropriate time. VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul.

TEXT: South Korean Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung says the government plans to boost military exchanges with China to a level resembling those with Japan.

Military exchanges between South Korea and Japan include joint naval drills and port visits by warships.

The South Korean military has not yet described the precise form the cooperation with China will take. Defense Minister Yoon says the two countries should hold talks twice a year and their defense ministers should meet every two years.

Lee Young-ghil specializes in Chinese military affairs at the Korean Institute of Defense Analyses here in Seoul. He says on a practical level, China and South Korea are likely to conduct minor joint operations.

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Mr. Lee says the South Korean and Chinese navy are likely to practice salvage and rescue operations together, rather than combat-oriented procedures.

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Chinese officials have applauded Seoul's decision, saying military cooperation is a logical extension of the good relationship between the two countries.

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One sensitive aspect of increasing military links with China is the role South Korean military assets would play in any conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan.

The United States may want to use U.S. personnel and equipment on its South Korean bases in such a conflict. A shift in military relations between China and South Korea could complicate that arrangement.

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South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said recently his country can reduce tension over issues such as Taiwan by adjusting its regional defense posture.

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President Roh says South Korea should become what he calls a "balancing force" in the region.

Some researchers say improving military links with China may be an initial step toward that position, which would be more neutral toward Seoul's traditional Cold War allies, the United States and Japan.

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China fought on the side of North Korea during the Korean War in the 1950s, and remains North Korea's only major ally. However, it is also one of South Korea's most important trading partners, as well as an influential participant in multinational talks aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear program.

Conservative opposition lawmakers say the government's overtures to China are inappropriate at a time when South Korea should be strengthening its current alliances to deal with the North Korean nuclear issue.

Members of President Roh's Uri Party say the relationship between the two Koreas has undergone a fundamental change in the past few years. The party pursues economic cooperation and engagement with Pyongyang, and earlier this year stopped using the words "main enemy" to describe the North.

Analysts say the timing of the South Korean move toward China may reflect recent strains in Seoul's relationship with Japan and the United States.

A dispute over several uninhabited islands between South Korea and Japan has reached an emotional fever

pitch among South Koreans in recent weeks.

At the same time, Seoul has opposed Washington's tough stance against North Korea, which U.S. officials fear already has nuclear weapons and may be selling missile and nuclear technology to other countries. (SIGNED)

NEB/HK/KA/KPD/MQM