Shin Won-sik's First Call with US Defense Secretary... "Strengthening Cooperation to Counter North Korean Threat"

On the 20th, Shin Won-sik, Minister of National Defense, held his first coordination call since taking office with Lloyd J. Austin III, U.S. Secretary of Defense, to assess the security situation in the region.

On the morning of the 20th, Shin Won-sik, Minister of National Defense, held his first coordination call since taking office with Lloyd J. Austin III, U.S. Secretary of Defense, to review the regional security situation and discuss current issues in the South Korea-U.S. alliance.
[Photo by Ministry of National Defense]

The Ministry of National Defense stated that "the two ministers highly evaluated the achievements made by the governments of both countries since last year to strengthen the ROK-U.S. alliance," and "agreed that the ROK-U.S. alliance is deepening and expanding the level and scope of cooperation as a 'global comprehensive strategic alliance.'"

According to the Ministry of National Defense, both sides emphasized the necessity of maintaining a strong combined ROK-U.S. defense posture to deter and respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. To this end, they agreed on the need to continuously expand ROK-U.S.-Japan security cooperation based on close ROK-U.S. coordination and the Camp David Agreement.

The ROK and the U.S. agreed to further strengthen the momentum of cooperation achieved so far. Additionally, the two ministers reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea and agreed to communicate regularly on key issues such as strengthening the combined defense posture and ROK-U.S.-Japan security cooperation to respond to any threats from North Korea. Furthermore, they agreed to meet in person for close consultations at the 55th ROK-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) and the ROK-U.N. Member States Defense Ministers Meeting.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.