Senior defense officials and security advisers from home and abroad gathered in Seoul for a regional security forum aimed at discussing ways to curb weapons of mass destruction and handle North Korea's nuclear threat. The inaugural Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD) brought vice minister-level and other senior defense officials from 15 Asia-Pacific countries, the European Union and two international organizations. The first Seoul Defense Dialogue comes under the spotlight because of growing territorial disputes in northeastern Asia, as well as the increasing North Korean military threat. The goal for attendees of the SDD is to develop action plans to deal with regional security issues.