▲ Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back (2nd from L) leaves for Washington at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, in this file photo from May 10, 2026. (Yonhap)

defense minister-security forum

Defense minister to depart for Singapore to attend security forum

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, May 29 (Yonhap) -- Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back was set to depart for Singapore on Friday to attend an annual security forum, where he is expected to highlight South Korea's defense policy and hold a series of bilateral meetings with counterparts of key partner nations.

Ahn plans to deliver a speech to the plenary session of the Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, on Saturday, presenting South Korea's defense policy directions amid regional and global challenges, officials said. The forum is running from Friday through Sunday.

Following the session, Ahn is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and discuss efforts to advance the defense partnership between the two neighbors.

A focal point of their talks will be whether they will formally announce a resumption of their joint maritime search and rescue exercises, known as SAREX, after they agreed to restart the drills during their talks in Japan in January.

Ahn may meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the margins of the dialogue, although a formal bilateral meeting is unlikely since they already held talks in Washington earlier this month.

While attending the forum, Ahn is expected to hold a series of two-way talks with counterparts of other countries, including Australia, Norway, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

It remains to be seen whether a trilateral gathering with the U.S. and Japan will take place.

Ahn also plans to meet with members of the U.S. House and the Senate attending the forum, the defense ministry said. Ahn will return home Monday.

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