South Korea and the United States have agreed to reactivate the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group to counter “any North Korean provocation,” the chief of president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s delegation said on April 4.
“[We] relayed the president-elect’s wish for South Korea and the U.S. to further upgrade the South Korea–U.S. alliance into a comprehensive and strategic alliance and formed a consensus [with Washington],” Park told reporters.
Park noted that both sides agreed on the need to maintain deterrence to counter North Korea’s provocative acts.
“To this end, the countries agreed on the need to strengthen the extended deterrence between South Korea and the U.S. and the importance of reactivating the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group that has failed to play its role over the past few years,” he added.
Sherman also reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to the defense of South Korea and welcomed joint efforts to achieve the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, according to the State Department.
Meanwhile, the top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States have also agreed to jointly push for a new United Nations Security Council resolution against North Korea.
U.S. special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, on Monday met with his South Korean counterpart, Noh Kyu-duk, in Washington for talks on Pyongyang’s intercontinental ballistic missile launches, YNA reported.
The two envoys reiterated that their countries will remain open to dialogue with North Korea and urged the hermit nation to resume denuclearization talks.