By Lee Dong-gyu
The Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD) 2019, hosted by the Ministry of National Defense, took place at the Lotte Hotel Seoul from September 4 to 6. The SDD is a multilateral security dialogue initiated in 2012 to promote peace and stability in Northeast Asia and to improve the security environment in the Asia-Pacific region.
Under the main theme, "Building Peace Together: Challenges and Visions," SDD 2019 had four plenary sessions and three special sessions.
The plenary sessions discussed the "Peace Process on the Korean Peninsula and International Cooperation," "Peace in Northeast Asia: Challenges and Tasks," "International Peacekeeping Operations and Humanitarian Assistance" and "National Strategy and Crisis Management in Cyberspace."
In addition, special sessions discussed "ASEAN: Regional Security and Balance," "International Cooperation for the Restoration of Peace in the Middle East" and the "Direction of Arms Control for the Establishment of Permanent Peace on the Korean Peninsula."
There was a profound change in the security environment on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia in 2018. The government tried to establish confidence between South and North Korea and improve inter-Korean relations by implementing the "peace process on the Korean Peninsula."
Accordingly, inter-Korean summits, North Korea-U.S. summits and the Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA) greatly eased military tensions on the peninsula and raised hopes for peace and prosperity in the region. Nonetheless, uncertainty and instability are increasing due to intensifying U.S.-China competition and strained relations between the Republic of Korea and Japan, as well as the North Korea nuclear and missile issues.
In addition to Northeast Asia, geopolitical conflicts and arms races are intensifying in the international community, while various security threats such as cyberattacks and terrorist threats continue to emerge in tandem.
Considering the situation, the theme, "Building Peace Together: Challenges and Visions," distinctly represented the current security situation in the world and the necessity for international cooperation. No nation can solely deal with various security threats. Through international cooperation and multilateralism, the international community could overcome current security threats.
Compared to other international defense dialogues, the SDD has its own strength and uniqueness, which is that it has focused on Korean Peninsula issues, such as the North Korea nuclear issue. This year the SDD also provided a venue to understand the current Korean Peninsula situation and related nations' positions and policies, and saw discussions on international cooperation measures and arms control to build peace on the peninsula.
Particularly in plenary session one, high-level defense officials and security experts from South Korea, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia shared their opinions on the government's peace process initiatives on the peninsula and the future direction of denuclearization.
A conference hall full of delegates and guests appeared to stand for international concerns on the future of the Korean Peninsula. During the session, all panels showed a broad consensus to positively evaluate the government's peace process on the peninsula and attempts to prevent North Korea from possessing nuclear weapons.
Despite the consensus for denuclearization and peace on the peninsula, discussions on approaches to denuclearization were expected to represent the current unstable security situation in Northeast Asia, such as the U.S.-China confrontation and recent conflict between South Korea and Japan.
Vice Minister of National Defense Park Jae-min opened his speech talk by mentioning South Korea's decision to end the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan. He highlighted that this decision was made due to Japan's decision to exclude South Korea from its "whitelist" of countries that get preferential trade treatment.
And there was a clash of opinions between the U.S./Japan and China/Russia. For example, Joseph DeTrani, a professor at Missouri State University in the U.S., stated that agreeing to any so-called freeze that permits North Korea to retain nuclear weapons would be a mistake and the international community must focus on "complete and verifiable" denuclearization of the North.
Satoshi Morimoto, the chancellor of Takushoku University of Japan, also emphasized that South Korea and nearby nations, as well as North Korea, should follow the roadmap that the U.S. has suggested.
By contrast, Han Fangming, the vice chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the CPPCC National Committee of China, emphasized that the key to solving the North Korea issue was holding dialogue, and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula should be achieved by dialogue and peace.
Fedor Voytolovskiy, a director of IMEMO at the Russian Academy of Sciences, also noted that dialogue between the parties concerned, especially those that participated in the past six-party talks, was critical to promote peace and stability in the region.
Apparently, discordant opinions during the session seemed to represent the limitations of a multilateral security dialogue. That is, ongoing conflicts among related nations are having negative effects on international cooperation to deal with common security threats, including North Korea issues. Therefore, it seemed difficult to seek viable measures through multilateral dialogue.
Still, the security dialogue helped us to understand each other and discover proper measures against security threats, because events like the SDD are not the goal, but part of the process to build peace together.
International cooperation and multilateralism can help the international community properly respond to various security threats. And multilateralism is based on dialogue and mutual understanding, which can be improved through meetings and dialogue. In that sense, the SDD contributed to shape a framework for multilateral cooperation and security cooperation, and with SDD 2019, we went one step forward toward world peace and stability.
Dr. Lee Dong-gyu is a research fellow at the Global Security Cooperation Center, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, in Seoul.
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| Lee Dong-gyu |
Under the main theme, "Building Peace Together: Challenges and Visions," SDD 2019 had four plenary sessions and three special sessions.
The plenary sessions discussed the "Peace Process on the Korean Peninsula and International Cooperation," "Peace in Northeast Asia: Challenges and Tasks," "International Peacekeeping Operations and Humanitarian Assistance" and "National Strategy and Crisis Management in Cyberspace."
In addition, special sessions discussed "ASEAN: Regional Security and Balance," "International Cooperation for the Restoration of Peace in the Middle East" and the "Direction of Arms Control for the Establishment of Permanent Peace on the Korean Peninsula."
There was a profound change in the security environment on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia in 2018. The government tried to establish confidence between South and North Korea and improve inter-Korean relations by implementing the "peace process on the Korean Peninsula."
Accordingly, inter-Korean summits, North Korea-U.S. summits and the Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA) greatly eased military tensions on the peninsula and raised hopes for peace and prosperity in the region. Nonetheless, uncertainty and instability are increasing due to intensifying U.S.-China competition and strained relations between the Republic of Korea and Japan, as well as the North Korea nuclear and missile issues.
In addition to Northeast Asia, geopolitical conflicts and arms races are intensifying in the international community, while various security threats such as cyberattacks and terrorist threats continue to emerge in tandem.
Considering the situation, the theme, "Building Peace Together: Challenges and Visions," distinctly represented the current security situation in the world and the necessity for international cooperation. No nation can solely deal with various security threats. Through international cooperation and multilateralism, the international community could overcome current security threats.
Compared to other international defense dialogues, the SDD has its own strength and uniqueness, which is that it has focused on Korean Peninsula issues, such as the North Korea nuclear issue. This year the SDD also provided a venue to understand the current Korean Peninsula situation and related nations' positions and policies, and saw discussions on international cooperation measures and arms control to build peace on the peninsula.
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| The Seoul Defense Dialogue 2019 |
Particularly in plenary session one, high-level defense officials and security experts from South Korea, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia shared their opinions on the government's peace process initiatives on the peninsula and the future direction of denuclearization.
A conference hall full of delegates and guests appeared to stand for international concerns on the future of the Korean Peninsula. During the session, all panels showed a broad consensus to positively evaluate the government's peace process on the peninsula and attempts to prevent North Korea from possessing nuclear weapons.
Despite the consensus for denuclearization and peace on the peninsula, discussions on approaches to denuclearization were expected to represent the current unstable security situation in Northeast Asia, such as the U.S.-China confrontation and recent conflict between South Korea and Japan.
Vice Minister of National Defense Park Jae-min opened his speech talk by mentioning South Korea's decision to end the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan. He highlighted that this decision was made due to Japan's decision to exclude South Korea from its "whitelist" of countries that get preferential trade treatment.
And there was a clash of opinions between the U.S./Japan and China/Russia. For example, Joseph DeTrani, a professor at Missouri State University in the U.S., stated that agreeing to any so-called freeze that permits North Korea to retain nuclear weapons would be a mistake and the international community must focus on "complete and verifiable" denuclearization of the North.
Satoshi Morimoto, the chancellor of Takushoku University of Japan, also emphasized that South Korea and nearby nations, as well as North Korea, should follow the roadmap that the U.S. has suggested.
By contrast, Han Fangming, the vice chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the CPPCC National Committee of China, emphasized that the key to solving the North Korea issue was holding dialogue, and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula should be achieved by dialogue and peace.
Fedor Voytolovskiy, a director of IMEMO at the Russian Academy of Sciences, also noted that dialogue between the parties concerned, especially those that participated in the past six-party talks, was critical to promote peace and stability in the region.
Apparently, discordant opinions during the session seemed to represent the limitations of a multilateral security dialogue. That is, ongoing conflicts among related nations are having negative effects on international cooperation to deal with common security threats, including North Korea issues. Therefore, it seemed difficult to seek viable measures through multilateral dialogue.
Still, the security dialogue helped us to understand each other and discover proper measures against security threats, because events like the SDD are not the goal, but part of the process to build peace together.
International cooperation and multilateralism can help the international community properly respond to various security threats. And multilateralism is based on dialogue and mutual understanding, which can be improved through meetings and dialogue. In that sense, the SDD contributed to shape a framework for multilateral cooperation and security cooperation, and with SDD 2019, we went one step forward toward world peace and stability.
Dr. Lee Dong-gyu is a research fellow at the Global Security Cooperation Center, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, in Seoul.
