Seoul Defence Dialogue: Denuclearisation of Korean Peninsula among key themes

High-level defence officials and military experts from over 50 countries have gathered here as part of a multilateral forum to discuss and deliberate on ideas for achieving denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, defence cooperation for prevention of violent extremism and maritime security.

The seventh edition of Seoul Defence Dialogue (SDD), an annual multilateral security meeting at the vice minister level, got underway on Tuesday with the theme of 'Sustainable Peace: From Conflict to Cooperation'.

According to officials of the South Korean Ministry of National Defence, relevant government officials and experts have come together to share opinions and come up with ideas for peace and security of the Korean Peninsula and the globe at large.

The first SDD was held in 2012 and with time it has grown both qualitatively and quantitatively, they said.

The dialogue, attended by high-level defence officials and security experts from various countries and international organisations, has developed into an "effective venue for building measures for defence cooperation".

"This year, including Central Asian countries, seven new countries have been invited to the SDD (Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Sweden, Spain and Egypt)," according to the information shared by the Ministry of National Defence.

High-level defence officials from over fifty countries, including the US, France and a few international organisations are participating in it, organisers said.

Several sessions have been lined up for the three-day event that ends on Friday.

Denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and establishment of peace regime is the main theme of the first plenary session slated to be held on Wednesday morning