The defense chiefs of South Korea and China are set to discuss North Korea’s nuclear program, peninsular and regional situations and ways to step up bilateral defense cooperation on Wednesday.



Chang Wanquan arrived in Seoul on Tuesday for a three-day stay and is scheduled for talks with his counterpart Han Min-koo. They last met in 2013 in Brunei.



He is the first Chinese defense minister to visit in about nine years. Kim Kwan-jin, Cheong Wa Dae’s national security chief and Han’s predecessor, traveled to Beijing in 2011. Chang, who took office in 2013, came to Seoul twice in the past, in 2003 and 2006.



With Pyongyang’s nuclear threat topping the agenda, the sides are expected to discuss an envisioned establishment of a military hotline and military personnel exchanges, as well as illegal fishing in the West Sea by Chinese vessels.



They will likely also confer on regional issues including Seoul’s recent signing of a trilateral arrangement with Washington and Tokyo on military intelligence.



“The two ministers plan to trade views on the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and in the region and explore ways to further boost bilateral exchange and cooperation,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.



By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)