Ahn presents three principles: stable deterrence, multilateral solidarity, rules-based order

Lee Jae-myung calls for stronger deterrence and expanded technology cooperation

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back delivers an opening address at the 2026 Seoul Defense Dialogue held at The Grand Lotte Seoul in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back delivers an opening address at the 2026 Seoul Defense Dialogue held at The Grand Lotte Seoul in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back presented a three-point framework for building a stable international order at the 2026 Seoul Defense Dialogue, anchored in strong deterrence, strategic restraint, multilateral cooperation and a rules-based order.

Speaking at the opening ceremony Tuesday morning at The Grand Lotte Seoul in Sogong-dong, Ahn said "true peace lies not in everyone becoming the same, but in achieving harmony by recognizing our differences." He added that "chaos is the foundation of crisis, but at the same time an opportunity to advance toward a new order."

Now in its 15th edition, the forum was held under the theme "Toward New Coexistence in an Age of Chaos" and drew more than 1,000 participants from 67 countries and international organizations. The US defense secretary and Japan's defense minister were absent, however. Japan sent Defense Counselor Ando Atsushi in place of Defense Minister Koizumi Shin-jiro, whose visit to Yasukuni Shrine last month had caused diplomatic fallout.

President Lee Jae-myung, on a state visit to France, delivered a video address in which he pledged to "steadfastly continue efforts for peaceful coexistence and shared prosperity on the Korean Peninsula through trust and dialogue grounded in firm deterrence." He also vowed to "fulfill South Korea's responsibilities as a global power by expanding cooperation in peacekeeping, humanitarian support, advanced technology and supply chains."

In a keynote address at the forum's first plenary session, titled "Co-designing a Stable International Order," Ahn said the international community today faces "an unprecedented crisis since World War II — not because of a lack of power, but because the rules and trust that have kept power from colliding have weakened."

"Competition among major powers is spreading beyond the military into economics, technology, energy, supply chains, maritime affairs, space and cyberspace," he said. "The question we must now ask is not who is stronger, but how that strength is to be managed."

Ahn then laid out his three principles for building a stable international order. "We must maintain strong deterrence while exercising strategic restraint," he said. "Security without deterrence is fragile, but deterrence without restraint is equally dangerous." He called for linking bilateral, minilateral and multilateral cooperation into "a single international safety net," saying alliances "must serve not as walls that divide, but as pillars we lean on together." He also urged the establishment of "a new order grounded in rules, accountability, restraint and pragmatism."


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