Korea-China Defense Ministers Meeting... Minister Lee "THAAD to Be Explained Later"

Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop is attending the Cabinet meeting at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 17th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop met with Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe and only stated that there will be "an opportunity to explain later" regarding the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 10th, the defense authorities of South Korea and China held a defense ministerial meeting in Singapore for the first time in 2 years and 7 months to discuss bilateral security issues.

The South Korean and Chinese defense ministers, who were visiting Singapore to attend the Asia Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue), held a bilateral meeting at the Shangri-La Hotel. The two ministers extended the scheduled 40-minute meeting to 75 minutes.

After the meeting, Minister Lee told reporters that he did not disclose specific details of the discussions but said, "In conclusion, it was a very beneficial and good opportunity for both sides to understand each other."

The South Korea-China defense ministerial meeting was held for the first time since November 2019, when Vice Minister Wei met with then Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Bangkok, Thailand.

The two ministers likely shared assessments of the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula, where North Korea has consecutively launched ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and is showing signs of conducting nuclear tests.

In particular, Minister Lee emphasized that North Korea's military provocations pose a threat to regional stability and may have requested China to play a role in easing tensions. However, since this was the first face-to-face meeting between the two ministers in nearly three years, it is reported that the meeting was more about confirming the basic positions of both sides on military and security issues rather than delving into specific current issues.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.