Chinese military official attends defense forum in Seoul
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Yong-woo, fifth from left in the front row, poses with participants during the opening ceremony of the Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference (PACC) and Pacific Armies Management Seminar (PAMS) at the Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan-gu, Monday. / Yonhap
By Yi Whan-woo
You Haitao
A senior Chinese military official visited South Korea, Monday, to attend a defense forum in Seoul that drew chiefs of staff and other senior commanders of the armies from countries in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the South Korean Army, Monday.
You Haitao, a lieutenant-general in the People’s Liberation Army, is leading the Chinese delegation at the Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference (PACC) and also the Pacific Armies Management Seminar (PAMS).
He is the highest-ranking Chinese military officer to visit Seoul after a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery was fully set up here Sept. 7 despite China’s protest.
PACC is a biennial meeting of Army chiefs of staff from countries in the Asia-Pacific region to discuss regional security issues including North Korea’s nuclear threats and also to develop interpersonal relationships.
PAMS is an annual meeting aimed at offering senior Army officers in the region the opportunity to share their thoughts in bolstering cooperation.
Both PACC and PAMS jointly kicked off Monday for a four-day run.
The U.S. and South Korean armies are the co-hosts of this year’s events.
The 2017 PACC and PAMS will run under the theme of “Unity of Effort: Building Civil-Military Partnerships in Land Force Response to Non-Traditional Security Threats.”
Over 250 participants from 29 countries are attending the meetings. Most of them are from nations of the Asia-Pacific region and some from countries in Europe and South America are also attending, according to the South Korean Army.
The participants at the opening ceremony included South Korea’s Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Yong-woo, U.S. Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley, Defense Minister Song Young-moo, U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Vincent Brooks.
Among the non-military officials were former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and former South Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Choi Young-jin.