By Lee Tae-hoon

Senior defense officials of Korea and China agreed to meet again next year to discuss ways to mobilize military resources, should one of the two countries be stricken by a natural disaster, an official said Thursday.

He said the agreement was reached during two days of talks that ended Thursday between Vice Defense Minister Lee Yong-gul and Gen. Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the general staff of the Chinese army.

“Working-level defense officials of the two countries will hold talks in Seoul October next year to further deliberate the signing of a memorandum of understanding on military relief activities,”he said asking for anonymity.

The high-level bilateral military talks came after the defense ministers of South Korea and China agreed on July 15 that Seoul and Beijing will hold annual “strategic military talks” to strengthen a bilateral strategic alliance.

In his opening remarks of the strategic dialogue, Lee said he was "confident" that the new bilateral forum will contribute a great deal to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.

"I believe these meetings will open a new era of bilateral cooperation between South Korea and China," Lee said. "I also expect our annual strategic meetings to maximize our defense exchanges."

In response, Ma said he hoped to have "candid and practical talks and a progressive exchange of opinions" during his stay.