(UTV | SOUTH KOREA) – The leaders of South Korea and the United States have agreed to consider expanding the scope and scale of their joint military exercises after a record number of missile tests from North Korea since the beginning of the year.
President Yoon Suk-yeol and his US counterpart, Joe Biden, announced the move in a joint statement on Saturday following their first summit in South Korea’s capital, Seoul.
“The two presidents share the view that [North Korea’s] nuclear program presents a grave threat not only to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, but also the rest of Asia and the world,” the statement said.
“Both leaders condemn [North Korea’s] escalatory ballistic missile tests this year,” it said.
The statement also outlined other deterrence measures, including a promise to deploy strategic US military assets – such as fighter jets and missiles – to South Korea, if necessary.
But the two leaders also offered assistance to North Korea, expressing concern over a growing COVID-19 outbreak in the impoverished and isolated country that has infected an estimated two million people and killed at least 66.
“With regard to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, we are willing to provide active assistance from the perspective of humanitarianism and human rights separately from political and military perspectives,” Yoon told reporters after the two-hour summit.
Biden also reiterated that stance, adding that Washington had offered COVID-19 vaccines to North Korea and China, but “got no response”.