Defense Minister Shin Won-sik met with the new chief of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command on Thursday and discussed strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance amid North Korea’s nuclear and missile development, his office said.

Shin met Adm. Samuel Paparo and U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera and thanked them for their support in strengthening the U.S. extended deterrence and deepening trilateral security cooperation with Japan, according to the ministry.

Both sides condemned North Korea’s recent failed attempt to launch a military spy satellite as a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and agreed on the importance of close cooperation between the allies in the face of such threats, the ministry said.

Paparo, the former commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, took office earlier this month, succeeding Adm. John C. Aquilino.

Defense Minister Shin Won-sik (L) and Adm. Samuel Paparo, the new chief of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, pose for a photo during their meeting in Seoul on May 30, 202
4, in this photo provided by Shin’s office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul also met separately with Paparo and discussed bilateral cooperation for peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region, Cho’s office said.

Paparo was quoted by the ministry as saying during the talks that South Korea has been an active contributor in ensuring the security in the Indo-Pacific and expressed hope that the country will play a greater role with close coordination with the United States.

Cho and Paparo also shared their assessments on the North’s recent botched spy satellite launch attempt and short-range ballistic missile launches, as well as the sending of balloons carrying trash over the border into the South.

They agreed to closely watch any additional provocations by the North and pledged watertight joint responses, the foreign ministry said.

Source: Yonhap News Agency