Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

The 13th Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD), hosted by the Defense Ministry, was held at Lotte Hotel Seoul from September 11 to 12 with the theme of “International Cooperation Beyond Global Security Challenges.”

The SDD, which began in 2012, was upgraded to an international ministerial conference in 2023, where senior defense officials and representatives of international security organizations and civilian security experts discuss multilateral security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and constructive ways to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The opening ceremony on September 11 was attended by about 900 participants from 67 countries (including Korea), the largest number of participating countries, and included Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, and ministerial-level officials from eight countries, representatives of international organizations and other guests.

In his keynote speech before the plenary session, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo offered his congratulations on the opening of the SDD, which is celebrating its 13th anniversary this year.

Stressing that North Korea’ illegal nuclear and missile development and military exchanges with Russia threaten global security, Prime Minister Han explained the Korean government’s efforts to counter the North’s threats, such as the ROK-U.S. Alliance, a global comprehensive strategic alliance that has developed into a nuclear-based alliance with overwhelming power, and the establishment of the Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral security cooperation framework.

He said that with the emergence of new types of security threats such as cyber terrorism and fake news, the solidarity and combined efforts of the international community are essential to address conventional and unconventional security threats. He added that Korea, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, will build a global cyber cooperation system and enhance the effectiveness of responses.

Plenary session I of the SDD, on the topic “Deterring War and Preserving a Rules-Based International Order,” was chaired by Prof. Kim Seong-han of the Graduate School of International Studies of Korea University, who served as the first head of the Office of National Security in the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. The presentations and discussion continued with a panel consisting of Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair, and NATO Military Committee Chair Admiral Rob Bauer.

Defense Minister Kim said that North Korea’s nuclear and missile development is continuing and its provocations are becoming more diversified, and Russia-North Korea exchanges pose a serious threat to world security beyond the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region.

He also said that South Korea will build an overwhelming strength and posture to deter the North and cooperate with the international community to realize freedom and reunification on the Korean Peninsula and fundamentally address the North’s nuclear and missile threats and human rights issues.

Minister Blair expressed concern about the growing threats in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly from China and North Korea, and highlighted Canada’s growing military presence in the region and work with partners in the North Pacific based on its 2022 Indo-Pacific strategy.

He reaffirmed that in the face of growing security threats in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world, Canada is committed to keeping the Indo-Pacific region free, open and inclusive by continuing to invest in defense and maintaining strong partnerships.

NATO Military Committee Chair Bauer noted that the Russia-Ukraine war has caused serious consequences to the global security environment, and in particular, Russia-North Korea military cooperation undermines peace on the Korean Peninsula and aggravates the war in Ukraine.

He added that NATO and Indo-Pacific partners including Korea should work together to preserve democracy and a rules-based international order and that there is no stronger weapon in the world than unity.

The panelists agreed that North Korea’s recent nuclear and missile and weapons of mass destruction development and Russia’s military exchanges with the North pose threats to the world beyond the Indo-Pacific region, and that responses must be made with the solidarity and combined efforts of the international community.