Prospect of Brief Meeting Between South Korea and US Defense Ministers... Discussion on Response to North Korean Projectile Launch

The defense ministers of South Korea and the United States are expected to hold talks on the 3rd at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore during the 20th Asia Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue).

On January 31, Lee Jong-seop, Minister of National Defense, spoke at a joint press conference with domestic and international media after the South Korea-U.S. Defense Ministers' meeting at the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

It has been reported that before the trilateral defense ministers' meeting between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan scheduled for that morning, Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin are finalizing arrangements to meet in a 'pull aside' format for about 20 to 30 minutes.

A 'pull aside' refers to an informal meeting held outside the official conference venue during a multilateral meeting.

If the talks take place, they are expected to condemn North Korea's military reconnaissance satellite launch using ballistic missile technology and discuss joint response measures between the two countries.

They are also expected to discuss concrete measures to implement the 'Washington Declaration' adopted at the South Korea-U.S. summit last April, including the launch of the South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), a bilateral extended deterrence system, and the regular deployment of U.S. strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea and the U.S. did not schedule a separate meeting during this Shangri-La Dialogue. This is because Secretary Austin visited South Korea in January and held talks with Minister Lee, and the allies have sufficiently discussed military cooperation measures during the recent G7 summit last month and the Washington summit in April.