The defense leaders of South Korea, the United States, and Japan will meet in Japan to discuss institutionalizing trilateral security cooperation and addressing North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
According to a report by Yonhap News yesterday, Shin Won Sik will attend the trilateral defense ministers’ meeting this Sunday at Japan’s Ministry of Defense in Tokyo. U.S. Secretary Lloyd Austin and Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara will also be present.
The three ministers plan to assess North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, discuss regional security situations, and explore ways to strengthen and institutionalize trilateral security cooperation.
This meeting follows an agreement from last month’s Trilateral Ministerial Meeting in Singapore, convened after the Shangri-La Dialogue, where the three countries’ defense ministers decided to rotate hosting the trilateral defense ministers’ meetings.
At that time, the ministers agreed to draft a document titled Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework by the end of the year to ensure that the three countries’ security cooperation remains resilient against external factors such as politics.
Shin recently indicated his intention to sign this document in the second half of this year, sparking interest in whether the drafting and signing will occur during the upcoming meeting.
Although the defense ministers of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan have occasionally gathered at international conferences like the Shangri-La Dialogue, this marks the first time they will meet in one of the three countries.
A South Korean Ministry of National Defense official explained, “We suggested holding meetings in each capital to follow the underlying spirit of the Camp David Summit and institutionalize trilateral security cooperation. This should be seen as a distinct event rather than just a side event of existing multilateral meetings.”
According to the official, the three countries agreed that defense ministers should meet frequently whenever opportunities arise.
Shin is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Secretary Austin and Minister Kihara in Tokyo. This visit marks the first time a South Korean defense minister has visited Japan’s Ministry of Defense since Minister Lee Sang Hee in 2009, making it a significant event after 15 years.
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