Defense leaders from the United States and South Korea committed to enhancing their joint military training amid a growing threat from North Korea.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup in Seoul on Tuesday for the fourth time and their first since the beginning of 2023. The two leaders, in a joint statement,"strongly condemned the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's continued provocations and violations of United National Security Council resolutions, including its missile launches and recent drone incursions.
"The two leaders also pledged to further expand and bolster the level and scale of this year's combined exercises and training," the statement continued."To this end, the two leaders concurred on the need to take into account changes in the security environment, including the DPRK's recent steps with respect to its nuclear and missile programs, to strengthen combined exercises and training, including the upcoming combined bilateral exercises.
The two sides will hold tabletop exercises next month to prepare a response for a possible North Korean nuclear strike. Earlier this month, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, whom Austin is expected to meet with on his trip, spoke with President Joe Biden on the same topic: North Korea's increasingly provocative behavior.
"President Biden and President Yoon tasked their teams to plan for an effective, coordinated response to a range of scenarios, including nuclear use by North Korea. And so that is what the teams are working on," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a briefing on Jan. 3.
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