제18차 아시아안보회의 한미일 국방장관에 북핵수석도 참석<br /><br />Shifting gears now... this year's 'Shangri-La Dialogue' kicked off in Singapore on today... amid stalled denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyeongyang... and as Seoul tries to patch up soured military relations with its neighboring countries.<br />Kim Ji-yeon reports. <br />One of Asia's biggest annual security meetings,... the 'Shangri-La Dialogue,'... opened in Singapore on Friday.<br />Major players participating in the 18th Asia Security Forum are set to discuss pressing security challenges in the region including the stalled denuclearization talks.<br /> What's noticeable this year... is that nuclear envoys of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are expected to get together for the first time in three months. <br />The meeting comes at a time when negotiations between Washington and Pyeongyang are at a stalemate and have been since the Hanoi summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump held in February.<br />Seoul's Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo is to make a speech during the annual event... placing emphasis on "easing tensions and building trust" on the Korean Peninsula.<br />It comes in line with Seoul's efforts for denuclearization through a peace process and improvement in inter-Korean relations.<br />The ministry also said it seeks to improve soured military relations with neighboring countries by holding defense ministerial-level meetings on the sidelines of the forum.<br /> A bilateral defense ministers' meeting between South Korea and China is to take place... for the first time in eight months.<br />They're expected to patch up ties following a diplomatic row stemming from Beijing's opposition to Seoul's decision to deploy the U.S. THAAD antimissile system in South Korea. <br />Official communication channels have been restored... as seen in bilateral working-level talks held last May... which was the first such meeting held between the two sides in more than two years.<br /> A defense ministerial-level meeting between South Korea and Japan is in the works... as part of efforts to restore military ties between the two countries... which worsened after Tokyo claimed a South Korean warship locked its radar onto a low-flying Japanese maritime patrol aircraft late last year... a statement Seoul has strongly denied.<br /> South Korea is also slated to hold a trilateral defense ministerial-level meeting with its U.S. and Japanese counterparts on the last day of the security event on Sunday.<br />Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News. <br />
