US Defense: "No Signs of North Korea Provocation Yet... Monitoring for Any Changes"

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stated that the 'December 3 Emergency Martial Law Incident' in Korea will not affect the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

Lloyd Austin, U.S. Secretary of Defense. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 9th (local time), Secretary Austin held a press conference aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier USS George Washington, docked at the naval base in Yokosuka near Tokyo, Japan. When asked, "Do you think the political uncertainty and confusion caused by Korea's emergency martial law situation will affect the South Korea-U.S. alliance and responses to North Korea's security threats?" he responded accordingly.

Secretary Austin said, "The relationship between us and the Republic of Korea is ironclad," adding, "It will continue to be so." He also stated, "Senior military officials across the theater, including chiefs of staff in positions like mine and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, maintain communication channels and engage with partners to stay focused on their missions."

He further said, "I am confident that Korea will overcome its domestic political challenges, but I will not comment on that in any way," and added, "Our relationship is strong, and we continue to focus on the defense of the Korean Peninsula."

When asked whether he believes North Korea might provoke during Korea's political crisis, he replied, "We have not seen such indications yet," and said, "We continue to monitor any changes in the current situation, but as you know, we have not seen that (change) yet."

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