S. Korea, US agree to stay unified against NK nukes

Published : Jan 20, 2018 - 10:12 Updated : Jan 21, 2018 - 09:44

South Korea and the United States agreed Friday to stay unified and work together to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons program.

The two sides affirmed the position during a meeting between South Korean Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan, according to a Pentagon statement.

"The leaders reaffirmed the ironclad nature of the alliance, and the importance of maintaining vigilance and unity in the face of North Korean aggression," it said.

Their meeting came as Seoul seeks to ease tensions on the peninsula through the North's participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics next month.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (L) speaks with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during a meeting of top diplomats from 16 countries in Vancouver on Jan. 16, 2018, in this photo provided by Seoul's foreign ministry. The two-day gathering is meant to discuss issues related to security and stability on the Korean Peninsula. (Yonhap)

The vice ministers discussed the preparations for the Olympics, as well as the ongoing military talks between South and North Korea.

And they agreed that "the U.S. and Republic of Korea will remain unified in working to achieve a complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," according to the statement.

Shanahan reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the defense of its allies, citing the new National Defense Strategy announced earlier in the day. He also noted that both he and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis hail from "the other Washington," which is closest to the Korean Peninsula of the lower 48 U.S. states.

On Wednesday, Suh took part in the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group talks involving vice-ministerial level defense and foreign affairs officials of both sides. (Yonhap)