S. Korea's defense chief to attend security forum in Singapore this week

SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup will leave for Singapore later this week to attend an annual security forum, his ministry said Thursday, in an effort to rally international support for Seoul's efforts to address evolving North Korean threats.

The three-day Shangri-La Dialogue is set to begin in the city-state Friday, amid tensions over Pyongyang's failed yet defiant launch of a space rocket this week and other security quandaries, like the protracted war in Ukraine.

Senior security officials from more than 40 countries, including the United States, China, Britain, Australia and Japan, are expected to join the gathering hosted by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

The forum consists of seven key plenary sessions, including those on U.S. leadership in the Indo-Pacific, the building of a stable and balanced Asia-Pacific, and Asia's evolving maritime security order, according to the ministry.

During a main session Saturday, Lee plans to speak on Seoul's policy efforts against Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, and request support and cooperation from the international community.

On the sidelines of the forum, Lee is scheduled to hold trilateral talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, as the three sides seek closer security cooperation against the North Korean security conundrum.

Last November, the three countries leaders' agreed on the sharing of missile warning data in real time during a trilateral summit in Cambodia to counter Pyongyang's missile threats.

Lee is also scheduled to hold separate bilateral talks with Hamada and his counterparts from China, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany and the European Union.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)