Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Republic of Korea Defense Minister calls for close cooperation to cope with new security threats

At the plenary session of the 6th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus,Minister Jeong suggested three ways to maintain the security cooperation of the international community,highlighted the need for discussion and standard practices to mediate conflicts,assessed the actual performance of the representative Asia-Pacific security consultative group, andemphasized the need to expand and strengthen international partnerships in the region.

Attending the 6th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), which was held in Bangkok, Thailand, Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo explained our government’s efforts for denuclearization of and establishment of a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, and called for the active support and cooperation of the international community. 

During a plenary session of the ADMM-Plus held on November 18, Jeong introduced “the Republic of Korea (ROK) government’s efforts for a sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula” after making a presentation on “changes in the international security environment and multinational security cooperation.”

“Today’s global security environment is undergoing more drastic changes than ever before, and the international order is continuously facing new challenges. Despite many efforts being made in the form of regional security cooperation systems as well as various approaches to cooperation among countries, competition and conflicts among countries caused by the pursuit of their own interests first are becoming worse,” Jeong said. “Thanks to the development of advanced science and technology in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, humans are extending their fields of activity to the space and cyber fields. This has changed even the sphere and aspect of security threats. Major accidents or natural disasters evolve to security threats, and factors such as cyber attacks and terror incidents are heightening the sense of crisis in the international community,” he added.

“Close cooperation among individual countries is critical to actively cope with these supranational and non-traditional "new security threats" as well as traditional security threats. In this regard, this meeting's theme, which is "strengthening partnerships for sustainable security," is both meaningful and timely,” he explained.

Jeong suggested three ways to jointly cope with the new security threats and issues through the international community’s security cooperation led by ASEAN countries: "establishing principles and codes in every country to respect international laws and individual country’s rights and interests," "boosting consultative groups to promote multilateral security cooperation," and "increasing mutual trust among regional countries and strengthening partnerships.

"Jeong also expressed his views on security. “With regard to security, a clear definition of the standard of discussion and practice is very important to prevent any conflicts of interest, and to mediate conflicts. In this regard, the basic principles of "prevention of and reaction to a terror threat" and "practical actions to build trust at sea and in the air" agreed on in the fifth ADMM-Plus last year represent meaningful progress.”

“Our government welcomes the "ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP)," which was adopted by the ASEAN leaders this June, and supports its principle of respect for international norms as well as its openness, acceptability, and transparency. Based on such efforts, if the international norms and related regulations, such as the "Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES)" and "Guidelines for Air Military Encounters (GAME)" are thoroughly observed, the regional peace order will be established in a stable way,” Jeong emphasized.

Praising the admirable performance of several ASEAN-led security consultative groups, such as East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum·(ARF), Jeong said that ADMM-Plus is achieving the de facto performance while serving as a representative multilateral security consultative group in the Asia-Pacific region.

“The (ADMM-Plus) participating countries are boosting discussions among nations with various activities, such as information sharing, seminars, and joint exercises, of the ADMM-Plus Expert Working Group on peacekeeping operations (PKO), counter-terrorism, and cyber security. Co-chairing the maritime security Expert Working Group under ADMM-Plus with Singapore, our government has also made efforts to protect the joint benefits from the maritime security area in the region for the past three years,” Jeong said.

Jeong also expressed the need for wide-ranging exchanges and cooperation in order to increase the mutual trust among countries. “The ROK has been maintaining a broad relationship with ASEAN countries, including the countries in Northeast Asia. With the New Southern Policy, which is focused on “people,” “win-win prosperity” and “peace,” we are upgrading our mutual cooperation with ASEAN and India in the fields of politics, security, economy, and society. We will also extend our regional security cooperation by creating a close partnership with Australia and New Zealand, which are surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans,” he said. 

“This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of a partnership in dialogue between ASEAN and ROK. The ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit will be held in Busan next week. On the occasion of the summit, the first ROK-Mekong summit, which is a step above the existing ROK-Mekong foreign ministers’ meeting, will be held,” Jeong explained.

“In the grand scheme of things, the leaders of the ROK, North Korea, and US have agreed on the denuclearization of North Korea and the establishment of a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, the development of ROK-North Korea relations, and the improvement of North Korea-US relations through talks and meetings,” Jeong commented, explaining the Korean government’s efforts for a sustainable peace on the peninsula. 

However, Jeong acknowledged that the implementation of the military accord between the ROK and North Korea has been partially stagnant since the failure of the North Korea-US Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam. He also added that many difficulties remain to be solved amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula caused by North Korea’s call for a change in the ROK policy towards North Korea, as well as its recent launches of short-range ballistic missiles.

“Despite all this, the ROK government will continue to patiently pursue talks and cooperation in order to build trust with North Korea,” Jeong said, stressing that North Korea should refrain from raising tensions on the peninsula in response to the goodwill shown by the ROK and US governments, as well as the expectations of the international community.

Wrapping up his speech with a reminder that “tensions and conflicts on the Korean Peninsula may become critical threats to security in the Asia-Pacific region, and must be solved to move forward to a future of peace and prosperity,” Jeong called for continuous support from ADMM-Plus member countries as well as the international community so that the denuclearization of North Korea and the establishment of a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula can contribute to peace in the Asia-Pacific region.

By Byeong-No, Yun <trylover@dema.mil.kr >

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