South Korean vice defiance chief to visit Russia to expand military ties

The South Korean vice defense minister will visit Russia to discuss ways to expand military ties as part of Seoul's push to expand its presence in Eurasia, his office said Tuesday. Baek Seung-joo will depart on Wednesday to hold meetings with his Russian counterpart, Anatoly Antonov, in Moscow to fine-tune details of a bilateral military pact. If officially signed later this year, the pact would allow joint search and rescue operations, reciprocal visits by warships and military aircraft, and military exchange programs between the two nations, Seoul's defense ministry said. The pact is an advanced form of a memorandum of understanding on bilateral defense cooperation signed in 1996, the ministry added. "The vice minister's visit is aimed at setting the groundwork for expanding cooperation in Northeast Asia and Eurasia, which is pushed by President Park Geun-hye," his office said in a release. During her recent visit to Russia's St. Petersburg, Park said Russia is a key partner in South Korea's efforts to bring permanent peace to the Korean Peninsula and enhance cooperation in Northeast Asia. Russia is one of the members of the six-party talks that are aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons in return for economic aid. The talks also include the two Koreas, the U.S., China and Japan. The dialogue has been dormant since 2008.