[News Terms] The 'Shangri-La Dialogue' Where South Korea, US, and Japan Defense Ministers Meet

The 'Shangri-La Dialogue' is a nickname for the Asia Security Conference (ASC), the world's largest security conference attended by defense ministers from various countries, hosted by the UK’s International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). Since its establishment in 2002, the conference has been held annually at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, hence the name 'Shangri-La Dialogue.'

The conference began as the interests of the IISS, which aimed to establish a high-level consultative body for defense and military affairs in the Asia-Pacific and European regions, aligned with Singapore’s desire to lead regional multilateral security cooperation. Defense ministers, chiefs of joint staffs, and security experts from 30 countries in the Asia-Pacific and Europe, including South Korea, the United States, Japan, Russia, Australia, and Germany, participate.

In June of last year, Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop (right) attended the 19th Asia Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue) and took a commemorative photo at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (center) and Japanese Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo before the trilateral defense ministers' meeting of Korea, the U.S., and Japan.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The event consists of a plenary session, special meetings, and bilateral talks. The plenary session is a defense minister-level meeting held publicly, while the special meetings are closed sessions where senior government officials and civilian security experts present topics, engage in Q&A, and hold discussions. Bilateral talks serve as friendly gatherings where multiple defense ministers or senior security officials meet to broadly discuss mutual interests, acting as a high-level military diplomacy channel.

Discussions cover U.S. and Asia-Pacific security, conflict prevention, security cooperation methods, collaboration for conflict resolution, global security and interregional cooperation, new terrorism threats, and energy security. It is a diplomatic forum for exchanging diverse opinions on security issues and actively supporting international cooperation efforts.

During the Asia Security Conference from the 2nd to the 4th of next month, South Korea, the U.S., and Japan are expected to hold a defense ministerial meeting and finalize specific implementation plans for real-time sharing of 'North Korean missile warning information.' Following the South Korea-Japan summit, security cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan to jointly respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats is accelerating. The defense ministers of South Korea and Japan are also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting during the Shangri-La Dialogue to discuss defense issues between the two countries.