Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back on Tuesday called for the resumption of dialogue between the United States and North Korea, saying South Korea's military would back diplomatic efforts with strong deterrence and readiness.
"I believe North Korea-US dialogue must take place, and the military will support it with powerful strength," Ahn said during the first plenary session of the Seoul Defense Dialogue in central Seoul.
Ahn said that he hopes US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are able to meet despite difficult circumstances, stressing that renewed talks would have implications not only for the Korean Peninsula, but also for broader international security.
He echoed President Lee Jae Myung's description of Seoul as a "pacemaker" helping Trump act as a "peacemaker" on the Korean Peninsula.
The remarks come as Lee has stepped up calls for conditions to be created for the resumption of US-North Korea dialogue, while Trump has repeatedly expressed willingness to meet Kim again.
Ahn said talks between Washington and Pyongyang should ultimately lead to renewed inter-Korean dialogue, which has remained frozen as North Korea has increasingly moved to sever ties with the South.
He pointed to Pyongyang's efforts since 2024 to fortify the inter-Korean border with multiple layers of fencing and mines, while stressing that Seoul has continued taking lower-level steps aimed at easing tensions and creating conditions for dialogue.
Those measures have included halting and dismantling loudspeakers used for broadcasts toward North Korea and preparing to resume remains recovery work around White Horse Hill.
"Even if North Korea continues to build walls and block the way, we will continue efforts for dialogue and peaceful measures," Ahn said.
In a keynote address during the session, Ahn also called for "strategic restraint" in managing growing geopolitical tensions, arguing that military strength alone cannot secure peace.
"Deterrence without dialogue is dangerous, just as dialogue without deterrence is vulnerable," Ahn said, calling instead for "stable deterrence."
The Seoul Defense Dialogue is an annual multilateral security forum hosted by South Korea's Defense Ministry since 2012 to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula and regional security cooperation. It was elevated to a ministerial-level forum in 2023.
The three-day gathering, now in its 15th year, is being held under the theme "Toward a New Coexistence in the Age of Turbulence." About 1,000 officials and experts from 67 countries and international organizations are taking part, including defense ministers from the Czech Republic, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Uganda.
Meanwhile, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi was absent from this year's gathering, despite expectations he would attend amid a recent acceleration in high-level defense exchanges between Seoul and Tokyo.
His predecessor, Gen Nakatani, attended last year's Seoul Defense Dialogue during the first official visit to South Korea by a Japanese defense minister in a decade.
Japan instead sent Atsushi Ando, a senior Defense Ministry official, following Koizumi's visit to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, which drew protests from Seoul. The shrine honors Japan's war dead, including 14 Class-A war criminals convicted over their roles in World War II.
Koizumi's absence stands in contrast to the brisk defense diplomacy between the two countries earlier this year. Ahn visited Japan in January, while Koizumi made a reciprocal trip to South Korea in June as the two sides sought to expand defense exchanges.
flylikekite@heraldcorp.com
![[Exclusive] Rescene eyes November comeback after breakout year](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/09/08/news-p.v1.20260908.303dc8341b964b4f83739410a5791df6_R.jpg?type=h&h=120)