▲ Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back (R) and his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, shake hands during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus held in Kuala Lumpur in November 2025, in this file photo provided by the defense ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

S Korea-Japan-defense talks

S. Korea, Japan to hold defense ministerial talks in Yokusuka this week

SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) -- Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, will meet in the Japanese port city of Yokosuka this week to discuss regional security issues along with ways to deepen their defense cooperation, the defense ministry said Wednesday.

Ahn will leave for Japan on Thursday to attend the defense ministerial talks set for the following day at the Japanese port city where the U.S. 7th Fleet is based, according to the ministry.

During his three-day trip, Ahn will also visit the U.S. 7th Fleet and the Japanese National Defense Academy.

The trip comes after President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met in her hometown of Nara earlier this month and discussed ways to deepen their bilateral ties.

Ahn and Koizumi last held bilateral talks in early November on the margins of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus in Kuala Lumpur, where they reaffirmed the importance of their trilateral security cooperation with the U.S. in the face of advancing North Korean nuclear and missile threats.

Ahn's visit marks the first by Seoul's defense chief to Japan in about 1 1/2 years since former Defense Minister Shin Won-sik visited Tokyo for ministerial talks in July 2024.

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