Defense chiefs of Korea, Japan to meet in Seoul for 1st time in decade

The defense chiefs of Korea and Japan will hold talks in Seoul next week, Korea's defense ministry said, marking what would be the first official visit to Korea by a Japanese defense minister since 2015. The meeting between Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and his Japanese counterpart, Gen Nakatani, comes as Nakatani is set to visit Seoul to attend the Seoul Defense Dialogue, an annual security forum hosted by Seoul's defense ministry. In phone talks held last month, Ahn and Nakatani agreed to continue with their bilateral security cooperation as well as trilateral cooperation involving the United States and meet at an early date to hold in-depth discussions. Nakatani had initially planned to visit Seoul in December last year but the trip was canceled following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid. Alongside Nakatani, the defense chiefs of four other countries — Croatia, Mongolia, the Philippines and South Africa — will join the three-day security forum set to take place from Monday through Wednesday, according to the ministry. The event will also bring together the chWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times