US remains committed to working with S. Korea to secure peace in Indo-Pacific: Pentagon

The United States has and will continue to work with South Korea to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, a Pentagon spokesperson said Thursday.

The spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, also reaffirmed US commitment to engaging with North Korea.

"From a DoD (Department of Defense) standpoint, certainly we remain committed to working with the Republic of Korea and our partners in the region to ensure peace, stability and security in the region," Ryder said when asked about the South Korea-US Mutual Defense Treaty, which was signed 70 years earlier in October 1953.

His remark also comes amid escalating tension with North Korea, which unsuccessfully launched a space launch vehicle carrying a claimed military reconnaissance satellite late last month.

The allies strongly condemned the failed launch, calling it a violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibit the North from acquiring or using any long-range missile technologies, including space rockets.

Pyongyang has dismissed the condemnation, saying it will continue to launch space launch vehicles until it succeeds.

Ryder said the US keeps an "open door when it comes to being willing to talk with North Korea."

"But certainly from a DoD standpoint, we will continue to work alongside our partners and allies in the region to prevent potential future conflict," he told a press briefing.

When asked about the proposed visit by a US nuclear submarine to South Korea, the Pentagon spokesperson reaffirmed that a nuclear-capable "Ohio-class" submarine will visit South Korea "at some point in the future."

The US agreed to dispatch a nuclear ballistic missile submarine to South Korea under an agreement signed by President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, dubbed the Washington Declaration, that is designed to bolster US extended deterrence commitment to South Korea.

Ryder declined to comment on specific armament of specific systems when asked if the SSBN will be carrying nuclear weapons, reiterating that it will be a "nuclear-capable submarine." (Yonhap)