Defense minister highlights S. Korea's push for 'self-reliant' defense alongside stronger US alliance

South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said Saturday that Seoul is strengthening its own defense capabilities while deepening its alliance with the United States, citing evolving North Korean threats and uncertainties from Middle East tensions. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Ahn warned that North Korea's closer alignment with Russia and its growing combat experience from the war in Ukraine pose new security risks to the Korean Peninsula and the broader Indo-Pacific region.

SINGAPORE — South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back on Saturday highlighted Seoul's drive to strengthen its own defense capabilities while deepening its alliance with the United States, amid evolving North Korean threats and uncertainties from Middle East tensions. Speaking at a defense forum in Singapore, Ahn said the North's closer alignment with Russia and its growing combat experience from the war in Ukraine pose a new threat to security not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in the Indo-Pacific. "The North's military buildup and its advancement of nuclear and missile capabilities are adding to instability across the entire Indo-Pacific region ... The developments on the Korean Peninsula clearly act as a key variable in global security," Ahn said in a speech to the Asian Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore. "The Republic of Korea will continue its efforts to strengthen self-reliant defense capabilities in tandem with enhancing the alliance with the United States ," Ahn said, calling South Korea by its official name. While maintaining a strong