High-level defense officials from some 30 countries and global organizations are set to gather in Seoul this week to discuss pressing security issues around the region and the world and explore ways to counter emerging unconventional threats.

Hosted by the Defense Ministry, the Seoul Defense Dialogue will kick off on Wednesday for a three-day run with the theme “70 years of the Post-WWII Era and the Division of Korea.” The vice-ministerial conference is its fourth edition this year.

The participants include Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong, former Japanese Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto, President Park Geun-hye’s special adviser on security Lim Jong-in, assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations at the U.N. Edmond Mulet and Martin Libicki, a professor at RAND Graduate School in the U.S. Han Min-koo, Seoul’s defense minister, will also deliver a speech.

They will discuss various issues ranging from Korean unification and maritime security in East Asia to cybersecurity and nuclear nonproliferation. On the sidelines, working-level officials from the 30 countries will hold a separate meeting to discuss cybersecurity, while another session on Northeast Asia is scheduled to bring together six countries -- South Korea, the U.S., China, Japan, Russia and Mongolia.

“We devised the program in hopes that the participating countries can have in-depth discussions on the issues of mutual interest in bilateral, multilateral and regional settings, which will then boost synergy with one another,” the ministry said in a statement.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)