During a defence ministerial meeting in Seoul today, South Korea and the US slammed North Korea’s growing aggression.
Joint Remarks on North Korea
In their joint remarks, South Korea’s Minister of National Defence Lee Jong-Sup and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin III “strongly condemned” North Korea’s “continued provocations” and multiple violations of UN Security Council resolutions, including its missile launches and recent drone incursions.
The United States is ready to use nuclear weapons to protect South Korea
— Madhaw Tiwari (@MadhawTiwari) January 31, 2023
During a visit to South Korea, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said the US was "committed to using the full range of conventional and nuclear deterrents to protect South Korea" from North Korea. #NorthKorea
Both pledged to continue bolstering their alliance’s capabilities to deter and “respond” to an aggressive North Korea. Accordingly, they agreed to “enhance information sharing, joint planning and execution, and alliance consultation mechanisms.”
They further agreed to conduct the Deterrence Strategy Committee Table-top Exercise (DSC TTX) in February, which will help facilitate discussions on “deterrence and response options” to deal with the North’s “nuclear threat.”
#SouthKorean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup met with visiting #US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday. The two sides agreed to ramp up missile information sharing among South Korea, the US and Japan. pic.twitter.com/IHq0AUeSGy
— People's Daily app (@PeoplesDailyapp) January 31, 2023
In addition, the allies pledged to “closely cooperate” in deploying US strategic assets in the future, and “expand and bolster the level and scale” of joint military exercises and conduct a large-scale combined joint fires demonstration this year.
Based on a “shared commitment” to establish a free and open Indo-Pacific, Austin and Lee decided to align their respective Indo-Pacific strategies and explore “avenues of cooperation” with their allies in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
The meeting happened against the backdrop of both sides celebrating the 70th anniversary of their Alliance and the Armistice Agreement.