Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

20th Asian Security Conference features Korea-Japan Defense Ministers’ Meeting

- Promote future-oriented security cooperation between Korea and Japan, as well as among Korea, the US and Japan

Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup met with Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada of Japan during the 20th Asian Security Conference, also known as Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore on June 4.

Both ministers concurred on the importance of security cooperation to deter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats and promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region.

In addition, they confirmed that the normalization of Korea-Japan relation is on track. They concurred that defense authorities of the two countries should communicate closely for security cooperation, in line with the shared aspiration of the leaders of Korea and Japan to elevate the bilateral relationship to a higher level.

In particular, they strongly condemn North Korea’s firing on May 31 of a long-range ballistic missile which it claimed to be a satellite, seriously violating the UN Security Council resolutions banning launches using ballistic missile technology. Moreover, they acknowledged that it is important to advance Korea-Japan and Korea-US-Japan security cooperation further to deter and respond to the North’s nuclear and missile threats, build trust between the defense authorities of the two countries, and promote exchanges and partnership at various levels.

They reaffirmed the importance of law and order based on international norms and rules and asserted that the two countries, which share universal values, will discuss regional and global challenges.

During the meeting, the two ministers established a consensus that they will implement future-oriented Korea-Japan and Korea-US-Japan security cooperation and upgrade communication between the defense authorities of Korea and Japan. Furthermore, they decided to accelerate consultations on outstanding issues within the defense authorities, including ways to prevent similar occurrences in the future.