South Korean vice defence minister to visit Laos for ASEAN-led regional security talks

Vice Defence Minister of South Korea, Kim Seon-ho, will visit Laos this week to attend an annual ministerial meeting of defence chiefs led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the defence ministry said on Tuesday.

Kim will leave for Vientiane on Wednesday to join the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)-Plus, which will bring together defence chiefs of 10 ASEAN countries and eight others, including the US, China, and Japan, Yonhap news agency reported.

In the meeting that will begin Thursday, Kim plans to condemn North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia to support its war with Ukraine and urge joint efforts to deter such a move, while discussing ways to cooperate on regional peace and stability.

Kim will attend the meeting on behalf of Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun, in consideration of the grave security situation and President Yoon Suk Yeol’s overseas trip, the ministry said.

ADMM-Plus opened its inaugural session in 2010 to enhance defence cooperation between ASEAN members and other regional states and has been held annually since 2018.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam.