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According to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the US and South Korea will hold discussion-based exercises to address nuclear threats.
Austin stated in an opinion piece that was carried by the Yonhap news agency that Washington and Seoul would hold “increasingly intricate scenario-based tabletop exercises focused on nuclear threats on the peninsula,” without mentioning a specific date.
Austin is making his third trip to Seoul as defense secretary, where he will meet with South Korean counterpart Lee Jong-sup and President Yoon Suk-yeol.
His visit aims to strengthen ties and discuss security issues while also reiterating “that the US extended deterrence commitment to the ROK (Republic of Korea) is unbreakable,” according to his statement.
As the North tested weapons that violated sanctions nearly every month last year, including launching its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile, military tensions on the Korean Peninsula significantly increased.
Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, had called for a “exponential” expansion of the country’s nuclear stockpile and declared Pyongyang to be a “irreversible” nuclear power last year.
