Washington has no plans to downsize USFK By Lee Min-hyung

South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo, right, shakes hands with his U.S. counterpart James Mattis before holding talks at his office in Yongsan, Seoul, Thursday. They discussed a series of defense issues including follow-up measures to realize a peace agreement from the Washington-Pyongyang summit. / Yonhap

Defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States pledged Thursday to tighten security readiness in a peaceful manner under the common goal of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

“If North Korea continues to take action to realize its pledge for denuclearization, Seoul and Washington will come up with measures to show peace and trust to Pyongyang,” Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo said in opening remarks during talks with his U.S. counterpart James Mattis.

The meeting comes at a time when inter-Korean relations are showing signs of a rapid thaw, with the regime’s young leader Kim Jong-un pledging to scrap his nuclear arsenal.

In a show of his willingness to denuclearize the peninsula, he has in recent months made unexpected public appearances ― holding summits with President Moon Jae-in and President Donald Trump.

Earlier this month, Seoul and Washington decided to suspend the large-scale Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) joint military exercise scheduled for autumn in response to Kim’s rare peace gestures.

Mattis also spoke highly of the bilateral decision to suspend the drill, pledging to fulfill a shared goal for peace here.

“The recent decision to suspend the exercise creates an increased opportunity for our diplomats to negotiate, increasing the prospects for a peaceful solution on the peninsula,” the U.S. defense secretary said.

He also said Washington has no plans to downsize the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), at least for the time being.

“We are reinforced by shared democratic values and by common security interests,” Mattis said. “The U.S. commitment to South Korea remains ironclad and the U.S. will continue to use a full range of diplomatic and military capabilities to uphold this commitment. This includes maintaining the current U.S. forces levels on the peninsula.”

This marks the third time this year the defense chiefs of the two countries have held ministerial talks.

Despite the latest peace momentum on the peninsula, Song and Mattis also pledged to enhance the Seoul-Washing alliance by communicating closely with each other.

Song said South Korea and the U.S. will do their best to turn the golden opportunity into lasting peace and prosperity for the world.

“Under the shared goal between both sides, Seoul and Washington will continue tightening the close military alliance,” Song said.

During the meeting, the two negotiated details for follow-up measures to realizing agreements made at the historic June 12 Washington-Pyongyang summit.

Details over the agenda have not been released, but both sides are expected to have discussed whether to suspend other joint exercises in line with the North’s continuous pledge for peace and denuclearization.

Source:koreatimes.co.kr