Defense Minister Shin Won-sik met with the outgoing head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific command Thursday and thanked him for his efforts to bolster bilateral security cooperation against North Korean military threats, his office said.

Shin met Adm. John C. Aquilino in Seoul and noted his role in Washington’s increased deployment of its strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula, including the nuclear-capable USS Kentucky ballistic missile submarine last July, according to the defense ministry.

The submarine’s arrival, which marked the first of its kind since the 1980s, came after Washington pledged to bolster its “extended deterrence” commitment in a joint declaration by President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden in April last year amid evolving North Korean nuclear and missile threats.

Extended deterrence refers to the U.S. commitment to using the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its ally.

Shin also hailed Aquilino’s efforts to boost trilateral security cooperation,
also involving Japan, which the U.S. admiral described as being very important for the security of the Indo-Pacific, the ministry said.

Last December, the three countries launched a system to share warning data on North Korean missiles in real time and also established a multiyear plan for trilateral military exercises.

The minister requested Aquilino’s continued support for the bilateral alliance even after retirement, and the U.S. commander promised to continue such efforts, it said.

Aquilino, who took office in April 2021, will be replaced by Adm. Samuel Paparo, the former commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, next month.

Source: Yonhap News Agency