A major security forum will begin in Singapore Friday, about two weeks ahead of a potential summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump that is also scheduled to take place in the city-state.
North Korean denuclearization is expected to be a primary agenda item at this year's three-day Asia Security Summit, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, with Pyongyang and Washington still at odds over how to approach that goal.
Defense officials from about 40 countries, including the United States and those in Asia and Europe, may also exchange views on the situation in the South and East China seas, where Beijing has been involved in increasingly tense territorial rows with its neighbors.