Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

[Asia Security Summit] Omnidirectional military diplomacy initiated for ‘North Korean denuclearization’

The Minister of National Defense, Han Min-koo, attended the 15th Asia Security Summit(referred to as Shangri-La Dialogue), and made active diplomatic efforts to 27 participating countries from the Asia-Pacific region and Europe for North Korean denuclearization. Defense Mister Han Min-koo made his speech at the plenary session and indicated that we should cooperate together so that North Korea can engage in genuine conversation and travel along the road toward common prosperity, moving away from their current disillusion and obsession with nuclear warfare.

In the speech with the topic of ‘National Defense Policy-making in a Time of Uncertainty’, he introduced 112 nations and 11 international organizations around the world that have opposed North Korea's nuclear developments and supported sanctions against it. He dismissed North Korea’s offer to hold talks without addressing its stance on denuclearization, saying that this was just a disguised peace strategy devoid of any sincerity. He also said, “The talks we want to have with North Korea are serious conversations to initiate reconciliation and cooperation between the South and North, particularly once North Korea strategically decides to give up its nuclear developments and subsequently puts that into real action.”

Furthermore, Defense Minister Han proposed to ▲enhance multinational security talks, ▲improve military transparency among countries in the region, ▲mediate conflicts within a framework of international rule, and ▲strengthen the comprehensive security measures of individual countries, while emphasizing the importance of security cooperation between nations in the region.

Many attendees of the plenary session paid attention to Defense Minister Han’s opinion that Asia-Pacific countries should hold sincere conversations about agendas that can mutually raise transparency, such as disclosing the size of the national defense budget, in order to address the lack of faith between countries in the region.

Along with that, he encouraged international cooperation for North Korean denuclearization by holding collaborative talks with the US, Japan, China, France, and Switzerland.

Korea-U.S.-Japan defense ministerial meeting was held

On June 4, Republic of Korea Defense Minister Han Min-koo held a Korea-U.S.-Japan defense ministerial meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and blameed North Korea for its provocative actions, including its 4th nuclear test. Particularly, the ministers agreed to work closely with one another to thoroughly implement UN Security Council Resolution 2270. They further reconfirmed the importance of information sharing to address North Korea's increasing threats, and agreed to bolster their own information sharing on these nuclear and missile threats in accordance with the TISA(Trade in Service Agreement). As part of these talks, Pacific Dragon, a mission warning drill, was also discussed.

A reaffirmed and entrenched Korea-U.S. alliance

Prior to this, Defense Minister Han and U.S. Defense Secretary Carter held talks with Korean and U.S. defense ministers, urging North Korea to comply with its international commitments and to give up its nuclear program in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible way. These two ministers evaluated the Korea-U.S. alliance as a firm and stable axis of peace and stability in the region. U.S. Defense Secretary Carter reconfirmed that the U.S. was very committed to defending Korea, while promising to utilize its entire military ability to continue to deter North Korea's threats and actions.

With respect to the Korea-Japan defense ministers’ talks held on the same day, Defense Minister Han and Japanese Defense Minister Nakatani agreed on the need for Korea-Japan and Korea-US-Japan cooperation against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. They also discussed their plans to establish a director level hotline, which will link the Korean Ministry of National Defense and the Japanese Defense Agency.

Defense Minister Han then expressed his gratitude to Senior Chinese Admiral Sun Jianguo for implementing a number of sanctions. Admiral Sun renewed China’s position to support Korea’s denuclearization, saying that peace and stability along the Korean Peninsula is very important for establishing a sense of security in the region. These two individuals then decided to move forward with strategic conversations between the Korean and Chinese militaries, as well as to hold search and rescue training.

Strengthened cooperation with France and Switzerland to counter North Korea

During this Shangri-La Dialogue, Defense Minister Han also strengthened the level of cooperation against North Korea by speaking with French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and the Swiss head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection, and Sports Guy Parmelin. He first expressed his deepest thanks to the French government, which led to additional sanctions being enacted at the level of the European Union, and decided to continue to develop strong cooperative relationships by hosting visits to both summits in Korea and France.

With respect to the Korea-Swiss ministers’ talks, as a member of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission for 63 years following the ceasefire of 6·25, Switzerland was recognized for its contributions towards stability and peace along the Korean Peninsula. As well, the Swiss government’s active support for denuclearization was also reaffirmed.

By Chul-Hwan, Kim < droid001@dema.mil.kr >
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