The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States met in Seoul, and agreed to
push ahead with THAAD,... and the talks wrapped up with a strong message against North Korea.
Kim Hyun-bin kicks things off with the newly sworn -in American military headman's maiden
Seoul-Washington defense meeting.
U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis and South Korea's Defense Minister Han Min-koo
sat down on Friday for their first face-to-face meeting since Mattis was sworn in by President
Trump around a week ago.
Emerging from the talks,... Mattis said the two allies are taking defensive measures to
counter North Korea's ever growing nuclear and missile threats.
He added that any use of nuclear weapons by North Korea would be met with an overwhelming
response.
"Any attack on the United States, or our allies, will be defeated, and any use of nuclear weapons
would be met with a response that would be effective and overwhelming."
The two allies also discussed additional defensive measures to counter North Korea's nuclear
and missile threats, including deployment of the U.S. missile defense system THAAD.
The THAAD battery is expected to be deployed on South Korean soil by the middle of this
year at the earliest.
South Korea's defense chief said the meeting shows how committed the allies are to countering
North Korea's threats.
"These South Korea-U.S. defense talks show that our resolve to counter North Korea's
nuclear and missile threats is unwavering... and it serves as a strong warning to Pyongyang."
The two defense chiefs also discussed the possibility of an intercontinental ballistic
missile launch by North Korea and agreed to put more pressure and sanctions on the regime
if the launch goes forward.
Experts have speculated North Korea could launch an ICBM on February 16th to mark the
birthday of its late former leader Kim Jong-il.
"Mattis is now in Tokyo for talks with his Japanese counterpart, and the North Korea
threat is likely to top the agenda there, too.
Kim Hyun-bin, Arirang News."
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