South Korean army chief meets with ally counterparts in US trip

The South Korean army said Monday its chief of staff Gen. Park An-su met with his US, Japanese and Australian counterparts during his eight-day trip to the US, for talks on North Korea deterrence.

At the annual Land Forces Pacific Symposium in Hawaii on May 14-16, Park participated in a panel discussion alongside the commanding general of the US Army Pacific Gen. Charles Flynn, Gen. Yasunori Morishita of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force and Lt. Gen. Simon Stuart of the Army Australia.

The discussion led by the military leaders of the four countries focused on multilateral security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, including deterrence against North Korean nuclear and missile threats, according to the South Korean army.

“Through the discussion, the four parties deepened their recognition of the importance of security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and decided to gradually expand the areas and scope of multilateral exchanges,” the South Korean army said.

During his US trip, Park visited the Pentagon to meet with the US Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George. The two talked about possible ways to diversify bilateral exchanges. He also met with the army chiefs of staff of the UK and Malaysia, Gen. Roly Walker and Tan Sri Dato Muhammad Hafizuddeain bin Jantan, respectively.

Park’s eight-day trip to the US began on May 12.