Senior defense officials of Korea, Japan reaffirm 3-way cooperation with US for regional peace
Summary
Senior defense officials of Korea and Japan reaffirmed Tuesday that trilateral cooperation with the United States is vital for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and beyond. Vice Defense Minister Lee Doo-hee and Japanese counterpart Atsushi Ando also pledged continued efforts to expand defense exchanges during talks on the margins of the Seoul Defense Dialogue. Lee separately discussed defense cooperation with Finland, Malaysia and Singapore.
Key Facts
- The defense ministry said Lee Doo-hee and Atsushi Ando agreed to maintain communication and build stable, mutually beneficial and forward-looking defense exchanges based on mutual understanding and trust.
- Ando attended the Seoul Defense Dialogue in place of Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who skipped the event after criticism over a visit to a controversial wartime shrine in Tokyo.
- In a separate meeting with Janne Kuusela, Lee discussed Korea’s assessment of the shifting global security landscape and ways to enhance bilateral defense cooperation.
- Korea and Finland agreed to expand cooperation in defense, science and technology, and the defense industry, building on existing partnerships including the K9 self-propelled howitzer project.
- Lee also met separately with Malaysian Secretary General of Defense Lokman Hakim Bin Ali and Singapore’s Minister of State for Defense Desmond Choo to discuss stronger cooperation in defense and arms manufacturing.
Vice Defense Minister Lee Doo-hee, left, poses with Atsushi Ando, a vice ministerial-level official of Japan's defense ministry, during their talks on the sidelines of the Seoul Defense Dialogue in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense
Senior defense officials of Korea and Japan reaffirmed Tuesday that their trilateral cooperation with the United States is vital to ensuring peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and beyond, also pledging continued efforts to expand defense exchanges.
Vice Defense Minister Lee Doo-hee shared the view with his Japanese counterpart, Atsushi Ando, during their talks on the margins of the Seoul Defense Dialogue, Seoul's defense ministry said in a release.
"Both sides agreed that bilateral and trilateral cooperation between Korea, Japan and the U.S. is crucial for maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and across the region," the ministry said.
"The two sides agreed to maintain communication and ongoing efforts to foster stable, mutually beneficial and forward-looking defense exchanges based on mutual understanding and trust," it added.
Ando was attending the forum in place of Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who skipped the event after his visit to a controversial wartime shrine in Tokyo, seen as a symbol of Japan's imperialistic past, drew criticism from Seoul and other neighboring countries.
In a separate meeting with Janne Kuusela, Finland's permanent secretary of defense, Lee shared Korea's assessment of the shifting global security landscape and discussed ways to enhance bilateral defense cooperation amid the growing security links between Europe and the Indo-Pacific, the ministry said.
The two sides also agreed to expand cooperation in defense, science and technology, and the defense industry, building on existing partnerships, including the K9 self-propelled howitzer project.
Lee also met separately with Malaysian Secretary General of Defense Lokman Hakim Bin Ali and Singapore's Minister of State for Defense Desmond Choo, and discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation in defense and arms manufacturing, among others, the defense ministry said.
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