Vice defense chief to join ASEAN-led regional security meeting

South Korea's Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho will travel to Indonesia this week to attend an annual regional security meeting involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the defense ministry said Tuesday.

Kim will leave for Jakarta on Wednesday to participate in the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus set to kick off the next day. It will bring together top defense officials from nine ASEAN countries and eight others, including the United States and China. Myanmar will not attend this year's gathering.

Kim will attend the meeting on behalf of Defense Minister Shin Won-sik as Shin is set to remain in Seoul due to President Yoon Suk Yeol's upcoming trip to San Francisco for the summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

During the meeting, Kim plans to request support from the participants on Seoul's efforts to manage the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, while noting the threats posed by North Korea with its advancing nuclear and missile programs, according to the ministry.

He also plans to explain Seoul's stance on regional security issues, including the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas and the war in Ukraine, it said.

On the margins of the gathering, Kim plans to hold separate bilateral talks with his counterparts and defense chiefs from the Philippines, Laos and New Zealand to discuss defense cooperation.

ADMM-Plus opened its inaugural session in 2010 to enhance defense cooperation between ASEAN members and other regional states and has been held annually since 2018.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam. (Yonhap)