South Korea's defense minister to attend security forum in Singapore
By Lee Min-hyung
Defense Minister Song Young-moo
Defense Minister Song Young-moo will attend Asia's annual security forum in Singapore to discuss denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula with his overseas counterparts.
For three days, starting Friday, Song will join the 17th Asia Security Summit: the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue where he will give a speech on the rapidly-changing defense situation on the peninsula amid rare peace gestures from North Korea
Under the theme “Denuclearization, peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula,” Song will explain the achievements of the historic inter-Korean summit last month and its influence on peace and security in neighboring countries, the Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday.
“Song will also hold dialogue with defense chiefs from other participating countries, calling on them to support the ongoing inter-Korean peace momentum for the complete denuclearization of the peninsula,” the ministry said in a statement.
This year's event is expected to draw plenty of attention from the world, as it comes shortly before the first-ever summit between United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un slated for June 12 in Singapore.
For this reason, the upcoming Washington-Pyongyang summit will top the list of agenda topics during the so-called Shangri-La Dialogue. As of now, nothing official has been unveiled about whether high-level negotiators from the two sides have narrowed their differences ahead of the summit.
The security forum started in 2002 in Singapore, with high-ranking defense officials from 30 countries including the U.S., China, Russia and Japan taking part in the event annually.
After ending his schedule there, Song plans to fly to Vietnam for three days from Sunday for a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Ngo Xuan Lich, the defense ministry said.
They are going to share their ideas to enhance defense acquisition partnerships and tighten their security alliance.
Song will also pay a courtesy call on Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang to share up-to-date matters on security affairs on the peninsula and request support for denuclearization here.