The 15th Shangri-la Dialogue kicks off in Singapore

Asia's largest security dialogue known as the Shangri-la Dialogue kicked off just a few hours ago in Singapore.The Shangri-la dialogue is hosted by the International Institution for Strategic studies and was first held in 2002. And this year, North Korea's nuclear and missile program tops the agenda. Arirang's defense correspondent Kim Hyun-bin is in Singapore for the three day event and files us this report.
The 15th Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue kicked off on Friday in Singapore. The annual dialogue is the largest regional security meeting consisting of 35 participating countries and 23 defense ministers including South Korea, the U.S, and Japan.
On top of the agenda are North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
South Korea's defense minister Han Min-koo is expected to deliver a speech at a plenary session on Saturday about Seoul's stance on the recent UN sanctions on Pyongyang aimed at deterring its ballistic missile and nuclear ambitions as well as gaining mutual assistance from participating countries.


"Sanctions have been imposed on North Korea to stop its nuclear program, and we will continue to pressure the regime until we see results. That's Seoul's stance on the issue,... and I will deliver it during the dialogue."

This marks the first time since 2011 a South Korean defense minister gives a speech at a plenary session at the dialogue.
Han is also scheduled to hold separate bilateral meetings with his U.S, Chinese and Japanese counterparts on the sidelines of the forum as well as a trilateral summit with Washington and Tokyo.

ed:paul
For the first time in the history of the multinational platform, a session to better deal with North Korea's nuclear program was established,... aiming to gain more cooperation from allies and put more pressure on the regime.
Kim Hyun-bin, Arirang News, Singpore

Visit ‘Arirang News’ Official Pages
Facebook(NEWS):   / newsarirang  

Homepage: http://www.arirang.com
Facebook:   / arirangtv  
Twitter:   / arirangworld  
Instagram:   / arirangworld