▲ Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back (C) leaves for the United States for talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on May 10, 2026. (Yonhap)

defense minister-security forum

Defense minister to attend annual security forum in Singapore this week

SEOUL, May 28 (Yonhap) -- Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back will travel to Singapore later this week to attend an annual security forum, his ministry said Thursday, amid an increasingly volatile security landscape, highlighted by the Middle East conflict.

Ahn will attend the 23rd Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, from Friday through Sunday, where he will be joined by his counterparts of key nations, including the United States, Japan and other European and Indo-Pacific partners, the ministry said in a release.

Ahn plans to deliver a speech to the plenary session, introducing "South Korea's defense policy in light of responses to a rapidly changing security environment and related challenges," it said.

On the sidelines of the gathering, Ahn will hold bilateral talks with his counterparts of Japan, Australia, Norway, the Philippines and Thailand to discuss mutual security issues and ways to expand defense cooperation.

Ahn also plans to meet with members of the U.S. House and the Senate attending the forum.

Launched in 2002, the Shangri-La Dialogue serves as a multilateral platform for top defense and military officials to discuss security situations in the Indo-Pacific and around the world, and efforts to promote cooperation in the region.

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