The US-South Korean Joint Forces Not Stay Silent About North Korea's Nuclear Provocations

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JAKARTA - The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States agreed to expand joint military exercises between the two countries amid increasing North Korean provocations.

South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also agreed to continue to take firm steps against North Korean provocations.

"The two leaders also pledged to expand and increase the level and scale of joint exercises and training this year," they said in a joint statement issued by the US Department of Defense, reported by Yonhap, Tuesday, January 31.

"To this end, the two leaders agreed on the need to take into account changes in the security environment, including the recent steps of the DPRK with respect to its nuclear and missile programs, to strengthen joint exercises and training, including the forthcoming joint bilateral exercises," he added.

DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea.

Lee and Austin held a bilateral meeting in Seoul on Tuesday (Seoul time). The US Secretary of Defense came here for work and after that will leave for the Philippines.

North Korea fired 69 ballistic missiles, including eight intercontinental ballistic missiles, in 2022 alone, marking a new annual record that far surpasses the previous record of 25 ballistic missiles launched in a year.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has also called for "exponential" growth of his country's nuclear arsenal, while Pyongyang said in September that its new nuclear law would allow it to "preempt" its use of nuclear weapons against South Korea and the US if it occurs. of any contingencies.

Lee and Austin strongly condemned North Korea's continued provocations and violations of UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting North Korea from conducting ballistic missile tests, according to their joint statement.

"They also confirmed that the ROK-US alliance, together with the international community, will continue to take a firm stand against further provocations by the DPRK," he said.

The defense chiefs also reaffirmed steps to enhance the implementation of the US's expanded deterrence to underscore US security commitments to South Korea, according to their joint statement.

To this end, countries will hold a table-top exercise of the Deterrence Strategy Committee next month, "to facilitate alliance discussions on deterrence and response options to confront the DPRK nuclear threat," he said.

"Secretary Lee and Secretary Austin also discussed measures to strengthen regional security cooperation including the ROK-US-Japan trilateral security cooperation," it added.