US to cultivate options in waters near Korea over Pyongyang's provocation: Pacific commander

The United States has more room to maneuver in waters around the Korean Peninsula to help deter further provocations by North Korea and will continue to cultivate such options, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet said Monday.

Adm. Samuel Paparo also said North Korea's recent missiles launches are "deeply, deeply concerning."

"We are cultivating some options for a demonstration of our bilateral commitment to the security, the stability and the well being of the Republic of Korea," the admiral said in a media roundtable in Washington, referring to South Korea by its official name.

His remarks come after North Korea fired its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) since November 2017, ending its self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile testing that had been in place since then.

Pyongyang has conducted 12 rounds of missile launches this year, including seven rounds in January alone that marked the largest number of missile tests it has staged in a single month.

"While we tightly calibrate our operations on the peninsula, in accordance with the sovereign wishes of the Republic of Korea, we have a little bit more room to maneuver in the West Sea or in the East Sea as it's called in Korea," Paparo said when asked if the US had plans to commit additional military assets to the region in light of the recent North Korean provocations.

"As the naval component commander, I have a key element within that and will continue to cultivate those options," he added.

Paparo said the US has already taken a step to show its commitment to the defense of South Korea.

"In response to the last, we did, in coalition and in partnership with one another, execute a demonstration at sea, which demonstrated our own resolve," he said.

The US dispatched the USS Abraham Lincoln to the Yellow Sea last month to conduct a carrier-based air demonstration.

The move came after North Korea launched two ballistic missiles on Feb. 27 and March 5 (Seoul time) that the US says had involved testing a new ICBM system.

Paparo reaffirmed the US' commitment to the defense of South Korea.

"What's unquestioned is the ironclad alliance between the US and the Republic of Korea and the commitment to the Republic of Korea, to its security and to its stability as one of the world's key and most vibrant democracies," he said. (Yonhap)