Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Vice defense minister holds ROK-Japan bilateral talks on the sidelines of 「Seoul Defense Dialogue 2022」

Vice defense ministers of ROK and Japan discuss ways to boost ROK-Japan security cooperation

On September 7 (Wednesday), Vice Minister of National Defense Shin Beom-chul held ROK-Japan vice defense ministers’ talks with Japanese Vice Defense Minister for International Affairs Masami Oka, who was visiting Seoul to participate in the Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD) 2022.

As the first ROK-Japan vice defense ministers’ talks since September 2016, this first meeting after a six-year hiatus was held in line with the two sides’ shared view that normalization of ROK-Japan defense cooperation is needed from a forward-looking perspective.

During the meeting, the two sides agreed to work together to normalize ROK-Japan defense cooperation, expecting that such efforts will contribute to security and peace in the region while responding to immediate security challenges.

The two sides also exchanged opinions on the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and in the region. Significantly, the two sides agreed regarding the importance of ROK-US-Japan security cooperation to deter and respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, and to continue cooperation in this area.