The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States agreed Thursday to boost military cooperation to better deter security threats in cyberspace, Seoul's defense ministry said.
During a 20-minute telephone conversation, South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo and the U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel "exchanged their opinions on pending security issues," ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told a press briefing.
"Han voiced support for the U.S. government's efforts with regards to the hacking attacks by North Korea against Sony Pictures, and the two agreed to work more closely on cyberspace issues," he added.
The communist North was behind the hacking attack on Sony last month for its comedy film, "The Interview," which depicts a plot to assassinate the North's leader, Kim Jong-un, according to the FBI. The incident led the U.S. government to slap sanctions on the North.
Speaking highly of their trilateral arrangement involving Japan to share their military intelligence, Hagel expressed gratitude for Seoul's cooperation for signing the pact, according to the ministry.
Late last year, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan signed the pact on sharing sensitive military information on North Korea's nuclear and missile programs to better counter Pyongyang's evolving security threats to the region and beyond.
Hagel noted the information-sharing arrangement will be crucial to enhancing deterrence of North Korean nuclear and missile threats and expressed his hope that the "three nations are able to build upon current momentum in the years ahead," Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement.
Hagel also reiterated U.S. defense commitments to the Asian ally and highlighted the importance of the alliance to maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, in Asia, and worldwide, Kirby said.
About 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea to deter North Korean threats.
The phone call was arranged at Hagel's request, officials said. The U.S. defense chief is scheduled to step down as soon as the nominee to be his successor, former Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Cater, is confirmed by the Senate in the next month or two. (Yonhap)
