Defense ministry to host Seoul Defense Dialogue next week amid global security uncertainties

South Korea will host the annual Seoul Defense Dialogue, an international security forum, next week to address concerns about global security uncertainties. The three-day event, themed "Toward a new coexistence in the age of turbulence," is expected to gather approximately 1,000 participants from 67 countries, including defense chiefs from the Czech Republic, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Uganda.

The forum will feature three plenary sessions and four special sessions, focusing on international order and alliances, the Korean Peninsula's peace, and maritime order cooperation. A working-group discussion on cyber and space security is scheduled for Monday. The ministry emphasized that the forum aims to explore new ways for coexistence in a rapidly evolving security landscape.

Notably, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi is expected to miss the event, likely due to his recent visit to a controversial war shrine in Tokyo, which has drawn criticism from Seoul. His predecessor, Gen Kanatani, attended last year's Seoul Defense Dialogue.