Liang Guanglie, member of the Central Military Commission and chief of general staff of the PLA, met with Song Young Moo, the visiting chief of naval operation of the Republic of Korea (ROK), yesterday morning in Beijing.

　　Liang Guanglie said that China and ROK are friendly close-by neighbors. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in August 1992, the relations between the two countries have developed rapidly in the political, economic and trade, cultural, scientific and technological fields. In recent years, the relations between the two militaries, as an important part of the relations between the two countries, have been further developed thanks to the common efforts of the two sides, which in turn has promoted the mutual understanding, trust and friendship between the two sides in the military field. The Chinese side is willing to join hands with the ROK side to continuously push for in-depth development of exchange and cooperation between the two militaries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.

　　Song Young Moo said that as ROK and China share common interests in maintaining regional peace, stability and prosperity, he hoped that the exchange and cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries, especially between the two navies, should be further deepened.

　　Zhang Yongyi, deputy commander of the PLA Navy, and Zhang Bangdong, director of the Foreign Affair Office of the Ministry of National Defense, were present at the meeting.

　　By Zhang Tiannan

　　(Aug 14, PLA Daily)