S. Korea to hold defense ministerial meeting with UNC member states next week

South Korea will hold a defense ministerial meeting with member states of the U.S.-led U.N. Command in Seoul next week to discuss ways to bolster security cooperation, the defense ministry said Thursday.South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik and his Canadian counterpart, Bill Blair, will co-host the meeting Tuesday, with representatives from 17 other UNC member states present, the ministry said.South Korea, which is not a member of the UNC but serves as its host country, has sought to deepen ties with the UNC to bolster deterrence against growing military threats posed by North Korea.The upcoming meeting marks the second of its kind following last year's inaugural gathering.The UNC was established in July 1950 under a U.N. mandate to support South Korea against North Korea's aggression during the 1950-53 Korean War and has been overseeing the armistice that halted the conflict.This file photo, taken Nov. 13, 2023, shows Defense Minister Shin Won-sik (3rd from L, front row) clapping with partici pants of the inaugural defense ministerial meeting between U.N. Command member states and South Korea at the defense ministry's headquarters in central Seoul. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)This file photo, taken Nov. 13, 2023, shows Defense Minister Shin Won-sik (3rd from L, front row) clapping with participants of the inaugural defense ministerial meeting between U.N. Command member states and South Korea at the defense ministry's headquarters in central Seoul. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)Participants will discuss the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and beyond, as well as measures to strengthen cooperation between South Korea and the UNC members, the ministry said.During last year's meeting, UNC member states vowed to be united upon any armed attack against South Korea.The current 18 UNC members are Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and the United States.Some 1.98 m illion personnel from 22 countries were dispatched to support South Korea during and right after the Korean War, which ended with the armistice, not a peace treaty.North Korea has long called for dissolving the command and recently accused Washington of trying to make an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) when Germany newly joined the UNC last month.Meanwhile, the defense ministry will also hold an annual international security conference in Seoul next week to discuss threats to the global security environment and measures to respond to them.The two-day Seoul Defense Dialogue will kick off Wednesday, bringing together some 900 security officials and experts, including Rob Bauer, chair of the NATO Military committee, and defense chiefs from the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and others.The conference will feature sessions on the possibility of armed conflict in Asia and other regions, security threats in the Indo-Pacific region, and challenges to the global nonproliferation regime, the ministry said.Source: Yonhap News Agency