제18차 아시아안보회의 한미일 국방장관에 북핵수석도 참석
Top defense officials from various nations have gathered in Singapore for the annual 'Shangri-La Dialogue'.
The session begins amid stalled denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyeongyang... and as Seoul tries to patch up soured military relations with neighboring countries.
Kim Ji-yeon provides a glimpse of what to expect.
One of Asia's biggest annual security meetings,... the 'Shangri-La Dialogue,'... opened in Singapore on Friday.
Major players participating in the 18th Asia Security Forum are set to discuss pressing security challenges in the region including the stalled denuclearization talks.
What's noticeable this year... is that nuclear envoys of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are expected to get together for the first time in three months.
The meeting comes at a time when negotiations between Washington and Pyeongyang are at a stalemate and have been since the Hanoi summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump held in February.
Seoul's Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo is to make a speech during the annual event... placing emphasis on "easing tensions and building trust" on the Korean Peninsula.
It comes in line with Seoul's efforts for denuclearization through a peace process and improvement in inter-Korean relations.
The ministry also said it seeks to improve soured military relations with neighboring countries by holding defense ministerial-level meetings on the sidelines of the forum.
A bilateral defense ministers' meeting between South Korea and China is to take place... for the first time in eight months.
They're expected to patch up ties following a diplomatic row stemming from Beijing's opposition to Seoul's decision to deploy the U.S. THAAD antimissile system in South Korea.
Official communication channels have been restored... as seen in bilateral working-level talks held last May... which was the first such meeting held between the two sides in more than two years.
A defense ministerial-level meeting between South Korea and Japan is in the works... as part of efforts to restore military ties between the two countries... which worsened after Tokyo claimed a South Korean warship locked its radar onto a low-flying Japanese maritime patrol aircraft late last year... a statement Seoul has strongly denied.
South Korea is also slated to hold a trilateral defense ministerial-level meeting with its U.S. and Japanese counterparts on the last day of the security event on Sunday.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.
