Defense Minister Kang Shin-cheol meets Singaporean and Vietnamese counterparts, broadening defense cooperation through MOU revision and AI

[Financial News] Visiting the Philippines to attend the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), Minister of National Defense Kang Shin-cheol held a series of bilateral meetings with the defense chiefs of Singapore and Vietnam to review ways to advance regional defense and defense-industry cooperation. The two countries’ ministers agreed to deepen people-to-people exchanges and advanced science and technology cooperation, building on their existing strategic ties. Kang also raised North Korea’s short-range ballistic missile launch that day and its mine provocation last September, and called for firm international cooperation to ensure security and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
According to the Ministry of National Defense, Minister Kang met successively on the 29th in the Philippines with Singaporean Defense Minister Chan Chun Sing and Vietnamese Defense Minister Phan Van Giang to discuss security issues between the countries.
Minister Kang first held talks with Singaporean Defense Minister Chan Chun Sing. The two ministers spoke positively of efforts to advance cooperation in defense and the defense industry since the two countries upgraded their ties to a “strategic partnership.” They agreed to deepen the partnership by promoting exchanges among military personnel and identifying new areas for cooperation in advanced technologies, including cyber and artificial intelligence (AI), key domains of future warfare. Regarding the Korea-ASEAN defense cooperation pledge projects being pursued by the Republic of Korea, Minister Kang asked Singapore, which is due to assume the ASEAN chairmanship in 2027, for particular interest and support.
Minister Kang then met with Vietnamese Defense Minister Phan Van Giang to discuss ways to expand their military partnership across multiple areas. The two ministers welcomed the rapid development of relations between their countries in various fields and reviewed ways to give concrete shape to defense and defense-industry cooperation commensurate with that progress. In particular, they agreed to promptly pursue the holding of the next Korea-Vietnam Defense Strategic Dialogue—the 13th—and revision of the existing “Defense Cooperation MOU” to expand practical cooperation in defense. They also praised the results of the countries’ defense-industry cooperation to date and agreed to work together to enable mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields.
Through this series of meetings, Minister Kang underscored the grave security situation on the Korean Peninsula to friendly countries in the region. He shared with both the Singaporean and Vietnamese defense chiefs the fact that North Korea had launched a short-range ballistic missile into the East Sea that day, making clear that the act threatened security on the Korean Peninsula and across the region. He also explained that the landmine explosion involving North Korean troops in the Demilitarized Zone last September was a clear violation of the Korean Armistice Agreement, and called on the international community to coordinate closely and firmly in response to North Korea’s provocations, which heighten military tensions.


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