2 hours ago
photo source, Provided by Ministry of National Defense/News1
Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop speaking at the plenary session of the Asian Security Council held in Singapore on the morning of the 12th.
South Korea’s Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop said at the Asian Security Conference held in Singapore on the 12th that he would “strengthen security cooperation between South Korea, the US and Japan” to halt North Korea’s nuclear tests and denuclearize, and to this end, “we can have serious conversations” with Japan.
Until recently, diplomatic relations between South Korea and Japan continued to cool down over issues such as past history, but recently they are cooperating for a joint response to North Korea’s nuclear test.
Minister Lee, who was attending the Asian Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue), said in a speech at the plenary session on the 12th, “We will strengthen the US’s extended deterrence capabilities to deter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats and enhance the ROK military’s response capabilities.”
To this end, he said, “We will also strengthen trilateral security cooperation between Korea, the United States, and Japan.”
Earlier, Minister Lee held a meeting with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi on the 11th. It is the first time since November 2019 that the defense chiefs of the United States, South Korea and Japan have gathered together.
photo source, News1
South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop (right), U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (center), and Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi met at the Asian Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue)
The Asian Security Conference, so-called ‘Shangri-La Dialogue’, has not been held for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but was held in Singapore for the first time in three years from the 10th, and all security heads of major countries in the Asia-Pacific region attended.
photo source, Arms Control Wonk
Nuclear test site maintenance activities: satellite images captured on March 4, 2022
Minister Lee and other representatives of the Republic of Korea and the United States raised concerns regarding an imminent nuclear test by North Korea and urged North Korea to stop further provocations.
South Korean and US intelligence officials believe that North Korea has completed all necessary preparations for its seventh nuclear test. At the beginning, there were many analyzes that North Korea would push for a nuclear force even this week, but no movement has been identified so far.
Experts believe that North Korea is preparing for the 7th nuclear test to test the ‘tactical nuclear warhead’ it is developing so far.
Previously, North Korea conducted six nuclear tests, including October 9, 2006, May 25, 2009, February 12, 2013, January 6 and September 9, 2016, and September 3, 2017. .