Army Chief of Staff General Kim Yong-woo will visit China from Wednesday to discuss restoring defense cooperation with Beijing.

The South Korean Army said on Tuesday that during his four-day official visit, the general will hold talks with senior Chinese military officials.

Kim will meet with General Han Weiguo, commander of the People's Liberation Army's Ground Force, and other officials, to discuss ways to resume military exchanges and strengthen cooperation.

The South Korean and Chinese armies had held regular annual meetings which were suspended since Seoul decided to deploy the U.S. THAAD missile defense system in 2016.

While in China, General Kim will also visit military bases in Beijing and Shanghai on Friday and Saturday and receive briefings on the Chinese military's post-reform era command system and direction in establishing future forces. 

Kim also plans to tour a memorial dedicated to Korean freedom fighter Yun Bong-gil and the building that housed Korea's colonial era provisional government both of which are in Shanghai.